** 




Class Jji:S.2iiO. 
Bnnk .R 7 G. 



THE STORY OF ROME 



By 

George Willis Botsford 



New York 
1903 



PREFACE 

The object of this volume is to supply pupils in Roman 
history with interesting and instructive reading from the 
sources. This purpose has determined not only the selec- 
tion of the material, but also the method of presentation. 
Although the book contains some descriptions of institu- 
tions, it is largely narrative and biographical ; preference 
has been given to those passages which illustrate life and 
character, or which help the reader to an appreciation of 
jneral literature. To make the subject-matter intelligible 
• well as attractive to young readers, the quotations have 
on so connected and interwoven as to form a continuous 
ory, and the difficulties have been explained in notes and 
ferences. These features will doubtless commend the 
book to many who, having passed the age of the pupil, 
are still interested in the literature and the life of ancient 
Rome. 

As a basis for the text, English translations, so far as 
they are available, have been used with the consent of the 
publishers. These translations, however, have been freely 
altered, with a view chiefly to the simplification of the 
style ; at the same time care has been taken to reproduce 
faithfully the meaning of the authors represented. 

We believe this book will bring the reader so near to 



vi Preface 

the Romans that he will look upon them as real men and 
women, whose character and conduct he can understand 
and appreciate. From this point of view sources rightly 
used have a high educational value. 

Various improvements in the language are due to the 
revision of the proofs by Mr. Charles Lane Hanson of 
the Mechanic Arts High School, Boston. Miss Elizabeth 
Corinne Wood of the Wadleigh High School, New York 
City, who also has read the proofs, has given the book, 
especially in the annotations, the benefit of her experience 
as a teacher and of her good judgment. For the able 
assistance of both friends we are sincerely grateful. 

THE EDITORS. 
Meadow Brook, 
May 9, 1903. 



CONTENTS 



FAGB 

Translations used ix 

CHAPTER I 

I. Introduction to the Sources I 

II. Italy and Her People • . . • '4 

CHAPTER II 
The Seven Kings — The Prehistoric Age 29 

CHAPTER HI 
Rome becomes Supreme in Italy ....... 60 

CHAPTER IV 
The Government and the Political Parties 84 

CHAPTER V 
The Expansion of the Roman Power lOI 

CHAPTER VI 
Government and Character . . . . . . . .127 

CHAPTER VII 

The Revolution — (i) The Gracchi, Marius, and Sulla . . 159 

vii 



viii Contents 

CHAPTER Vni 

PAGE 

The Revolution — (2) Pompey, Caesar, and Octavius . . .189 

CHAPTER IX 
The Julian Emperors ......... 233 

CHAPTER X 
The Claudian and the Flavian Emperors ..... 261 

CHAPTER XI 
The Five Good Emperors 286 



) 



TRANSLATIONS USED IN PREPARING 
THE TEXT OF THIS BOOK 

Appian, Roman History, translated by White. 2 vols. New York. 
Macmillan. 

Augustus, Deeds (^Momimentiim Ancyranum), translated by Fairley, 
in Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of Euro- 
pean History, V. University of Pennsylvania. 

Aurelius Antoninus, Marcus, Meditations, translated by Long. New 
York. A. L. Burt Company. 

Caesar, Commentaries, translated (Bohn). New York. Macmillan. 

Catullus, Poems, translated (Bohn). Macmillan. 

Cicero, Orations, translated (Bohn). Macmillan. Repnhlic, edited 
and translated by Hardingham. London. Quaritch. 

Diodorus Siculus, Historical Library, translated by Booth, London. 
1814. (Out of print.) 

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, translated by Spelman. 
London. 1758. (Out of print.) 

Horace, Works, translated by Martin. 2 vols. New York. Scribners. 

Justin, Nepos, and Eutropius, translated (Bohn). New York. Mac- 
millan. 

Juvenal, Satires (D. lunii luvenalis Satira), with a Literal English 
Prose Translation and Notes. Macmillan. 

Livy, History of Rome, translated by Spillan (Bohn). 4 vols. Mac- 
millan. 

Lucretius, On the Nature of the World (T. Lucreti Cari, de Rerum 
Natura libri sex), translated by Munro. London. Bell and Co. 

Ovid, Fasti, translated (Bohn). New York. Macmillan. 

Pliny, Letters, translated by Church and Brodribb. Philadelphia. 
Lippincott. 



X Translations Used 

Plutarch, Lives, translated by Stewart and Long (Bohn). 4 vols. 

New York. Macmillan. 
Polybius, Histories, translated by Shuckburgh. 2 vols. Macmillan. 
Propertius, Elegies, translated by Moore. London. Rivingtons, 
Sallust, Florus, and Velleius Paterculus, translated (Bohn). New 

York. Macmillan. 
Strabo, Geography, translated (Bohn). 3 vols. Macmillan. 
Suetonius, Lives of the Casars, translated by Thomas, revised by 

P'orester (Bohn). Macmillan. 
Tacitus, Annals, translated by Church and Brodribb. Macmillan. 

Histories, translated by Church and Brodribb. Macmillan. 
Tibullus, Poems, translated (Bohn). Macmillan. 
Vergil, Aineid, translated by Crane (verse). New York. Baker, 

Taylor. 

EXPLANATIONS 

Greece, Rome, and Ancient History are abbreviated titles of Botsford, 

History of Greece, History of Rome, and Ancient History. 
Words supplied by the editors are enclosed in parentheses. 



THE STORY OF ROME 

AS GREEKS AND ROMANS TELL IT 



The Story of Rome 



CHAPTER I 



I. Introduction to the Sources 



, In their earliest settlement on the Palatine Mount the 
Romans were a simple, primitive people, ignorant of the 
comforts and the advantages of civilized life, such as the Ori- 
entals and the Greeks were then enjoying. Rude peasants 
and herdsmen, they knew nothing of schools or of reading 
and writing. A great good fortune came to them, therefore, 
when some Greeks from Chalcis, Euboea, sailed to the coast 
of Italy near the present city of Naples, and founded the 
colony of Cumre. For these new settlers began immedi- 
ately to trade with the natives, — to exchange their artistic 
pottery and their well-woven cloths for the copper, the 
grain, the slaves, and other products of Italy. The Latins, 
who lived near, and who were a remarkably intelligent and 
practical people, eagerly learned whatever they could from 
these refined strangers. 

The most valuable of all their acquisitions was the alpha- 
bet. At some time, accordingly, while the kings were ruling 
Rome, — which was simply a town of Latium, — some of the 
Romans learned to write and read. Traders began to use 
writing for business purposes ; priests wrote prayers and 
rituals ; and the pontiffs composed the fasti, or calendar, — 
a list of days of each month setting forth the festivals, the 
market-days, and the days which were lucky or unlucky for 
doing business. But neither priests nor pontiffs wrote any- 

B I 



The primi- 
tive Romans. 



Rome, p. 21 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, pp. 258, 
275- 

Greece, p. 33 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 67. 



Adoption of 
the alpha- 
bet. 



Rome, p. 29 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 275. 



Introduction to the Sources 



The consu- 
lar fasti. 

Rome, pp. 66, 
80; Ancient 
History, pp. 
297, 306. 



Annals, 
laws, and 
treaties. 



390 B.C. 



Orations, 
family 
chronicles, 
and poetry. 

Rome, p. 90 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory,^. 311. 



thing about the events or the life of this early time, or 
recorded any information which could be of service to the 
historians, who lived hundreds of years afterward. Nearly 
all we know of Rome under the kings, therefore, rests upon 
inferences from the condition of her government, society, 
and religion at a later age. For this reason we call the regal 
period prehistoric. 

When ♦ . Romans instituted the republic and annual 
magistrates, they found it necessary to bear in mind who 
had served as consuls and dictators and in what order; 
for a man's position in the state depended chiefly on the 
offices he had held. As it was extremely difficult to remem- 
ber a long series of names, the Romans early in the republic 
began to keep a written list of their annual magistrates. 
They called this list " fasti," for they had patterned it after 
the calendar. Thereafter they could date any event by the 
consuls of the year in which it happened. 

The pontiffs took another step toward the writing of his- 
tory, when they began to insert in the fasti the striking events 
of the year, such as prodigies, eclipses, famines, and more 
rarely political and military happenings. A set of the fasti 
thus expanded they called annals, because in these records 
events were grouped by years. From the beginning of the 
republic, too, the Romans recorded their treaties and laws, 
— for instance the laws of the Twelve Tables and their 
treaty with Carthage. Some of this material was destroyed 
by the Gauls in their sack of the city, but was restored from 
memory with a fair degree of accuracy. 

In the period of the Samnite wars statesmen began to 
keep notes of their political speeches ; and toward the end 
of the period the great Appius Claudius Caecus, by writing 
his orations in full, prepared the way for a national literature. 
At the same time the funeral orations in honor of distin- 
guished men were expanding into diffuse, untrustworthy 
chronicles of families. The father, too, would often tell his 
children the wonderful tales of ancient times which he 



Value of the Sources 3 

had heard from his father. This oral tradition, however, 
was even more fabulous than were the family chronicles. 
Another kind of historical source was created in the First 
Punic War, when Nasvius of Campania wrote a metrical 
story of that struggle, in which as a soldier he had borne a 
part. But though poetry of the kind may contain much 
historical truth, it is not real history ; in fact Rome produced 
no historian till near the end of the Second Ptf^>.ic War — 201 b.c. 
three hundred years after the founding of the republic. 

The writings of the republican age thus far mentioned, Value of the 
together with oral traditions and buildings of various kinds, sources, 
were the only sources for the history of the period. The 
materials differed greatly in value. ( i ) The traditions which 
the earliest historians found at hand did not reach back 
beyond the second or third generation, excepting in the 
case of a few remarkable events ; everything else which 
passed as tradition was really myth. (2) The family chroni- 
cles were a mixture of myth and tradition, (3) The political 
orations, though few, had a higher value for history. (4) The 
fasti even for the period before the Gallic invasion were 
fairly accurate. (5) The laws and treaties were abso- 
lutely trustworthy. In addition to the written and oral 
sources, there were (6) temples, city walls, and other public 
works, which in their own way told the early historian the 
story of Rome's progress through the past. For the first 
three centuries of the republic these were the chief sources 
used by the historians. By bearing in mind the relative 
value of these materials while we are reading any narrative 
of the period, we may determine in a general way what part 
to accept as trustworthy and what part to reject. 

Serious history, in contrast with the verses of Naevius, Age of the 
began with Fabius Pictor, a Roman senator and an officer Annalists, 

. 201-83 B.C. 

in the war with Hannibal. He wrote in Greek, the literary p^bius 
language of the age, a history of Rome from yEneas to his Pictor. 
own time. In the earUer part of the work, while depending 
chiefly on the meagre annals of the pontiffs, he introduced 



Introduction to the Sources 



Polybius. 
P. 144. 

Rome,\>. 122: 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 331. 



Cato the 
Censor. 
P. 150. 



Teuffel and 
Schvvabe, 
Roman Lit- 
erature, i. p. 
64. 



Valerius 
Antias, 

90 B. C. 



many myths. Though in the treatment of his own time he 
followed reliable sources, he showed extreme partiality to 
his own city. He, too, grouped events by years, taking the 
pontifical annals as his model ; and for that reason he is 
called an annalist — the first of a long succession of annalists. 

After Fabius several persons wrote Roman histories in 
Greek, among them Polybius, a statesman of the Achaean 
league. He was brought as a hostage to Rome, where he 
became the tutor of the youth who was afterward known 
as Scipio ^milianus. Polybius wrote a detailed account 
of the expansion of the Roman power. In preparing this 
work he examined documents, travelled about to learn the 
geography, climate, and products of the countries he treated, 
and especially attended to the causes, connection, and effects 
of events ; in a word, he set a good example of studying 
history by the methods approved at the present day. Cato 
was the first to compose a history of Rome and Italy — 
the Origins — in Latin prose ; and it is chiefly for this 
reason that he is considered the founder of Latin prose 
literature. " He tells us that he himself wrote books on 
history with his own hand in large letters, that his boy 
might start in life with a useful knowledge of what his 
forefathers had done." 

An orator, too, of considerable force, Cato inserted many 
specimens of his eloquence in his history. " The Romans 
were well qualified for oratory by their acute intellect, their 
love of order, and their Italian vivacity tempered with 
Roman gravity." Constant practice at the funerals of 
their kinsmen, in the law-courts, in the assemblies, and in 
the senate had already in the age of Cato produced a 
number of able speakers. It was not till the following 
period, however, that their oratory, under Greek influence, 
reached its highest stage of perfection. 

After the time of Cato the Censor, some of the annalists, 
departing from his plan of narrating facts in simple lan- 
guage for the instruction of the serious reader, began to 



The Ciceronian Age 5 

write for the entertainment of the public. To give their 
narrative a brilliant coloring they filled it with lively stories 
and startling incidents, however exaggerated and false. 
About the time of the Social War, Valerius Antias, the 
most infamous of these romancers, composed his Annals 
of Rome in seventy-five books. 

The period of the annalists, which began with Fabius The Cicero- 
Pictor, 201 B.C., came to an end about 80 B.C. Then 83-436^0'. 
followed the historians. They were so called not because 
they surpassed the annalists in accuracy, for this was 
usually not the case, but because their literary style was 
superior. First in order let us consider Gains Julius Caesar, Gaius Julius 
although he did not himself call his narratives history. ?f^^cf' ^°°~ 
While in war and in statesmanship his achievements place 
him among the foremost men of the world, his literary 
genius is scarcely less remarkable. In his writings he 
shows a faultless taste and a clear, direct, masterful style. 
His Com?ne?ifa?-7es on the Gallic War and On the Civil War 
are a plain but forceful narrative of his wonderful cam- 
paigns. The primary object of these works was to justify 
his wars and his political policy. The success with which 
he achieved this object testifies to the straightforwardness 
of his policy as well as to his mastery of the pen. Although 
from his point of view the " Commentaries " were mere 
notes which might prove useful to the future historian, the 
world concedes that no better history can be written. 

Somewhat later Sallust wrote a monograph On the Con- Sallust. 
spiracy of Catiline and another On the Jngiirthine War. 
Along with his narrative of events, he tried impartially to 
analyze the character of society and the motives of con- 
duct. Perhaps no other Roman historian cherished so 
high a regard for the truth. These works we still have, 
but most of his History, in which he described the events 
following Sulla's death, has been lost. Caesar and Sallust 
were the chief historians of their age. Though each noble 
family recorded the deeds of illustrious ancestors, no 



Introduction to the Sources 



Nepos. 



Marcus Tul- 
lius Cicero, 
106-43 B.C. 



Rome,\). 182; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 366. 



Lucretius. 
P. 227. 



Catullus. 
P. 230. 



national interest in biography arose till the closing years 
of the republic, when the great men of Rome began to 
attract all eyes. At this time Cornelius Nepos wrote a 
work On Eminent Men, in which he treated of famous 
Romans and foreigners. Most of his lives which we 
possess are of Greek generals ; they show him to have 
been an inferior and untrustworthy author. 

In this age Roman oratory reached the height of its 
development in Marcus Tullius Cicero. As Caesar em- 
bodied imperialism, Cicero represented the better spirit 
of the republic. As a statesman he cherished high ideals 
of republican freedom ; as a citizen he was intensely patri- 
otic ; and his private character was worthy and amiable. 
His achievement was to bring the prose of his country to 
formal perfection, — to make Latin a great classical lan- 
guage. This result he accomplished by developing, refin- 
ing, and enriching his mother tongue not only in oratory 
but in nearly every style of prose from philosophy to fa- 
miliar correspondence. It is chiefly owing to his creative 
genius that Latin has been the universal language of learn- 
ing and culture from his time almost to the present day. 
If in reading his Orations we make allowance for their 
rhetorical coloring and their political bias, we shall find 
them valuable for the study of the age. More trustworthy 
are his Letters to friends, in which he speaks candidly of 
passing events. 

As the temperament of the Romans was realistic and 
practical, they met with little success in imaginative litera- 
ture. Lucretius, a poet of the Ciceronian age, composed 
in verse a work On the Nature of the World, in which 
he tried by means of science to dispel from the mind all 
fear of death and of the gods, — to free men from super- 
stition. Notwithstanding the scientific details in which 
the poem abounds, it is a work of genius. Catullus, a 
brilliant poet of the same age, wrote beautiful lyrics on 
subjects of love and life, and some bitter lampoons. On 



The Augustan Age 7 

the whole, the poetry of this period is less celebrated than 
that of the following. 

At the time when Augustus established the imperial The Augus- 
government, most thinkers and writers were republican ^q^^}^'^^ 
in spirit. Disliking the rule of one man, some maintained 
a sullen silence ; others recognizing the advantages of 
imperial peace, or won by the patronage of the emperor, 
easily adapted themselves to the new order of things. It 
was the policy of Augustus to enlist all the literary talent 
of Rome in support of his system. In his spirit, accord- 
ingly, and for the achievement of his grand purpose, the 
gifted writers aimed to purify and ennoble the present by 
bringing it the life of the good and great past. Livy, the Livy. 
most eminent author of prose in this age, wrote a History 
of Rome in a hundred and forty-two books. ^ From what 
has been said above on the sources of history for the regal P. 2. 
period and the early republic, it will be clear that the 
military and personal details in the early books of Livy's 
works are largely mythical. Yet even in this part the 
author expresses vividly and accurately the character of 
Rome and of her citizens and institutions. From the time 
of the Punic Wars, the details of every kind are in a high 
degree trustworthy. 

Though in his conception of the aim and method of his- 
tory he was far inferior to Polybius, whom he had read, he 
loved what he supposed to be the truth and the right. 
His sympathies were intensely republican ; with his fine 
rhetorical training he would have been, like Cicero, a 
great orator, had he lived a few years earlier. Yet he 
consented to work for Augustus. His love of law and 
order, his hatred of violence and vulgarity, served the 
interests of his patron, while the vast compass and the 
stately style of his history, like the splendid public 

1 Books i-x and xxi-xlv, with mere summaries of the remaining books, 
have alone come down to us, and are our chief source for the earlier 
periods. 



8 



Introduction to the Sources 



Dionysius of 

Halicarnas- 

sus. 



Diodorus 
the Sicilian. 



Strabo. 



Vergil. 

Pp. loi, 240. 



works of the age, helped make the imperial government 
magnificent. 

While Livy was writing his great work, Dionysius of 
Hahcarnassus was compiling a detailed history of Rome 
from the earliest times to the beginning of the Punic Wars. 
As an historian he is on the whole inferior to Livy ; and 
yet his work is a valuable source for the life and institutions 
of early Rome. 

Another Greek writer of the Augustan age, Diodorus the 
Sicilian, took a wider interest in history. Thirty years he 
devoted to travel over Europe and Asia and to study in the 
preparation of his vast historical Library, which narrated 
the events of the civilized world from the earliest times to 
the conquest of Gaul. The author showed no judgment in 
selecting his material or in putting it together ; hence the 
different parts of his work are of unequal merit. He had 
no conception of the unity of history, and this fault, together 
with his arrangement of events by years, prevented him 
from tracing the causes, connection, and effects of events, 
— from being a good historian. His descriptions of coun- 
tries and nations, however, are excellent ; and in spite of 
all defects, his work is indispensable, as it is our only 
source for long periods of ancient history. Of the forty 
books we have the first five, the eleventh to the twentieth, 
and fragments of the other parts. 

At the same time lived Strabo, the geographer. After 
travelling through many countries and learning much 
from earlier writers, he composed a description of the 
known world in seventeen books. He gives useful his- 
torical information, too, regarding many of the places 
which he mentions. Though he wrote in Greek, and had 
Greek blood in his veins, he was a native of Pontus in 
Asia Minor, and was connected with the ancient kings of 
that country. 

The poetry of the Augustan age is even more celebrated 
than the prose. In several ways Vergil, the poet, re- 



Poetry 9 

sembles Livy. Both composed in a lofty style with high 
moral aims. Inspired by the greatness of Rome, both 
were patriotic from the heart, and expressed more per- 
fectly than any other writers the ideals of their nation. 
The poet's narrative is as lively and as dramatic as the 
historian's. Vergil is graceful, tender, and childlike. 
His principal work is an epic poem called the ^neid. 
In this story of the wanderings of JEr\ez.s he glorifies the Rome, pp. 17, 
beginnings of Rome and at the same time, the imperial History, -p-p. 
family, which claimed descent from the hero of his poem. 265, 3S7. 
Horace, author of Otks and Satires and Epistles in Horace, 
verse, was the poet of contentment and common sense, 
who bade his friends — 

Snatch gayly the joys which the moment shall bring, 
And away every care and perplexity fling. 

Leave the future to the gods, he taught. A comfortable 
villa, some shady nook in summer, and in winter a roar- 
ing fireplace, good wine, pleasant friends, and a mind 
free from care make an ideal life. After the stormy end 
of the republic, the world needed such a lesson ; and 
though he remained independent in spirit, Horace quietly 
served his prince. His work abounds in references to 
manners, customs, and events, and hence is valuable for 
an understanding of the age. 

Among the less celebrated writers of the Augustan age, Propertius 
Propertius was a young poet of rare genius, the most ^°*^ Tibul- 
original master of the Latin elegy. Though inferior to Pp. 36, 227, 
him, Tibullus was more popular because of his sincerity ^^^' ^^'^' 
and his gentleness. Both poets died young, before they 
could develop to the full the range and power of their art. 
Far more productive was Ovid, the polished poet of the Ovid. 
gay, immoral circle which surrounded Julia, the daughter ' '^^' 
of Augustus. Ovid's great works are the Metamorphoses^ 
a long poem made up of those legends — mostly Greek — 
which involve changes of human beings into animals, 



lO 



Introduction to the Sources 



Velleius 
Paterculus. 

Rome, pp. 
219, 221. 



Valerius 
Mfiximus. 



The 

Claudian and 
Flavian Age, 
41-96 A.D. ; 
Seneca the 
philosopher. 

Rome, 

p. 234 f. ; An- 
cient History, 
p. 396. 



plants, stones, or the like, and the Fasti, a metrical calen- 
dar containing some curious information regarding Roman 
customs. At the time when Julia was banished, Augustus 
ordered Ovid to leave Rome and to take up his abode at 
Tomi, a cheerless barbarian town on the Black Sea. 
There he passed the remainder of his life. His offence 
probably had some relation with Julia's immoral intrigues. 

To literature the banishment of Ovid was an evil omen ; 
it pointed to the fact that thinkers and writers were grow- 
ing restive under the imperial system, and that the em- 
peror felt compelled to withdraw his patronage from 
literary men and even to repress their freedom. Under 
Tiberius the republican reaction against the empire was 
at its height ; the time was therefore so unfavorable to 
literary work, that this reign produced no writers of talent 
or especial merit. Velleius Paterculus, who had served 
Tiberius as a military officer, wrote a short History of 
Rome to the year 30 a.d. The earlier period he treated 
briefly, his own age with greater fulness. Wordy and 
pompous, he is nevertheless fairly accurate in his state- 
ment of facts ; and for the reign of Tiberius he enjoys 
the advantage of being our only contemporary source. 
Undoubtedly sincere in. his admiration of the emperor, he 
overflows with eulogy, like a partisan rather than a calm- 
tempered historian. The same lack of historical temper 
we find in Valerius Maximus, who lived at the same time, 
and who wrote Mcmo7'able Acts and Sayings in nine books. 
The object seems to have been to supply the youth with 
material for declamations. The work is untrustworthy, 
but contains some interesting and useful information. 

The decline of literature after Augustus showed itself in 
the rhetorical bombast, the far-fetched metaphors, and other 
unnatural devices of authors who reflected the artificial 
society of their day. At the same time provincial writers 
were bringing to Rome greater breadth of mind and deeper 
thought. An author of this type was Seneca the philosopher. 



Tacitus 



1 1 



A Spaniard by birth, a Stoic, and a rhetorician, he became 
the tutor and afterward the prime minister of Nero. As a 
statesman he came far short of the high standard of morahty 
which his writings present. Nevertheless his teachings fell 
like seed on a good soil, which in the following generations 
produced abundant practical virtue ; for the merits of the 
five " good emperors " were due in considerable part to 
Stoicism, of which Seneca was the most brilliant exponent. 

Under the Flavian emperors Pliny the Elder wrote a 
Natural History in thirty-seven books. In addition to the 
natural sciences, it includes geography, medicine, and art. 
An encyclopedia compiled from two thousand different 
works, it is a great storehouse of knowledge. What Pliny 
did for science Quintilian, a native of Spain, achieved for 
rhetoric. His Training of the Orator, in twelve books, 
gives a complete course of rhetoric beginning with the boy 
and ending with the well-equipped public speaker. The 
work is valuable not only for the famous author's principles 
of rhetoric, but also for his opinions of the leading Greek 
and Latin writers. 

The sufferings of republicanism under Domitian, followed 
by the happy reigns of Nerva and Trajan, produced the 
last great writers of classic Latin, Tacitus and Juvenal. 
One wrote history, the other satire, yet with a kindred 
spirit. The Annals and the Histories ^ of Tacitus covered the 
period from the death of Augustus to the death of Domitian. 
Besides these larger works he wrote a monograph on the 
Life and Character of Agricola, the conqueror of Britain, 
and another, the Germania, on the character and institu- 
tions of the Germans of his time. His experience as an 
army officer and a statesman gave him a clear understand- 
ing of military and political events. He was conscientious, 
too, and though he made little use of documents as sources, 



Rome, p. 228 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 393. 



Pliny the 
Elder. 



Quintilian. 



The Age of 
the Good 
Emperors, 

96-180 A.D. ; 
Tacitus. 



1 Of the Annals we have bks. i-iv, parts of v and vi, and xi-xvi, with 
gaps at the beginning and end of the last group of books ; of the Histories 
there remain bks. i-iv and the first half of v. 



12 



Introduction to the Sources 



Rome, p. 238 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p, 398. 



Rome, pp. 
249, 261 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 403. 



Juvenal. 
P. 281. 



Pliny the 
Younger. 
Pp. 275, 291. 



we may trust his statement of all facts which could be 
known to the public. His style is exceedingly rapid, vivid, 
and energetic. His excellences as an historian, however, 
are balanced by serious defects. Though he owed his 
seat in the senate to Domitian, he belonged to the strictest 
circle of aristocrats, who were out of joint with the times 
and blocked the way of progress. Hatred of the " tyrants " 
from Tiberius to Domitian, and the bitterness he felt be- 
cause of his party's failure, supplied him with inspiration 
for his gloomy narrative. He wrote in the reign of Trajan, 
when the empire was at the height of prosperity, the hap- 
piest age in ancient history ; and yet he ignored the blessings 
the imperial government had brought the provinces. To 
most critics his chief merit lies in his dramatic portrayal 
of character ; but his prejudice led him unconsciously to 
invent bad motives even for the best acts of the emperors, 
especially of Tiberius. His characters, however vivid and 
self-consistent, are the product of his gloomy, bitter imagi- 
nation. Valuable as his work is to one who can distinguish 
between fact and fancy, it is as much satire as history. 

Like the historian, Juvenal, author of Satires, was power- 
ful and dramatic. With the inspiration of wrath and in 
the spirit of Tacitus, he looked back to the society of Rome 
under Nero and Domitian to find in it nothing but hideous 
vice. The pictures drawn by the historian are grand and 
fascinating ; those of the satirist repel us by their ugliness ; 
the works of both masters are unreal. 

When Rome renounced the republic, so far as to consider 
her emperors good, she lost her motive for literary art. Her 
writers became shallow and insipid, without thought or 
imagination, who could only repeat what they had read. 
The best of this class was Pliny the Younger, an orator, 
and for a time governor of Bithynia. One of his speeches, 
a eulogy on Trajan, which has come down to us, is an 
example of the tiresome, feeble style of the day. His 
Letters, polished yet trivial, are valuable for the study of 



Late Greek Writers 



13 



the times. Less praise belongs to Suetonius, Hadrian's 
secretary, whose Lives of the Ccssars from Julius to Domitian 
is a mixture of useful facts and foolish gossip. We should 
constantly bear in mind that the worth of an author as an 
historical source is totally distinct from his literary merit, 
and that often writers who seem to be wholly devoid of 
historical sense supply us with most valuable information. 
This is true not only of Suetonius but of a younger con- 
temporary, Aulus Gellius, whose Attic Nights is a store- 
house of knowledge of " archaic literature and language, 
law and philosophy and natural science." The title is due 
to the fact that the compilation of the work occupied the 
author's evenings during a winter spent in Athens. 

A revival of Hellenic literature under the " Good Em- 
perors " produced some authors of unusual merit. Appian 
of Alexandria wrote a narrative History of Rome. It is true 
that he was uncritical, yet this may be said of nearly every 
other ancient historian. Large parts of his work have come 
down to us, and are valuable. At about the same time 
" Plutarch wrote his immortal Lives, perhaps the most 
widely read and permanently attractive work by one 
author known to the world." In spite of the fact that he, 
too, lacked the training and the critical judgment of the 
historian, his biographies are among the most instructive 
sources for the persons and events of which they treat. 
Somewhat later lived Dio Cassius of Bithynia, who be- 
came a Roman senator, and held the office of prtetor 
under the emperor Pertinax. He composed in Greek a 
Liistoj-y of Rome, in eighty books, extending from the earli- 
est times to 229 a.d. Though the style is rhetorical, his 
work shows remarkable insight and judgment. We have 
books xxxvi-liv entire, with fragments and abridgments 
of the rest. 

Several minor sources deserve briefer mention. Florus, 
whose time and country are unknown, composed in a highly 
rhetorical style an Epitome of Roman History from the 



Suetonius. 



Tenffel and 
Schwabe, 
Roman Lit- 
erature, ii. p. 
233- 



Appian and 
Plutarch. 



Murray, An- 
cient Greek 
Literature, 
P- 395 f- 



Dio Cassius. 

Rome, p. 268. 



Minor 
sources. 



14 



Introduction to the Sources 



Rome, pp. 
278, 281 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, pp. 420, 
422. 



Inscriptions 
and build- 
ings. 



founding of the city to the beginning of the empire. At 
the request of Valens, Eutropius wrote a dry Compendium 
of Roma7i History Xo the accession of his patron — 364 a. d. 
Aurelius Victor, who lived in the fourth century a.d., is 
said to have composed the Origin of the Roman Nation ; 
On the Illustrious Men of the City of Rome ; The Ccesars, 
brief biographies of the emperors from Augustus to Con- 
stantius ; Life and Character of the Romati Emperors, from 
Augustus to Theodosius. It is probable, however, that 
all these works are not by the same hand. The six 
authors of the Augustan History — the lives of the emper- 
ors from Hadrian to Numerianus, 117-284 a.d. — wrote 
under Diocletian and Constantine, and dedicated their 
biographies to the one or the other of these emperors. 
Spartianus was the author of the life of Hadrian, and 
Capitolinus of the lives of Antoninus Pius and Marcus 
Aurelius. This work, however devoid of Hterary merit, 
is a trustworthy and a highly important source. Lastly 
may be mentioned Eusebius, bishop of Cesarea, a zealous 
Christian and prolific author. His Ecclesiastical History, 
in ten books, gives much useful information concerning 
the early Christians and their relations with the empire. 

Inscriptions, too, form an exceedingly valuable source. 
Almost wholly wanting in the regal period and in the 
early republic, they grow abundant toward the end of the 
republican period ; and for the administration of the em- 
pire they furnish the most precious information. For a 
full and accurate appreciation of Roman history, the pub- 
lic works should also be studied. 



The form of 
Italy. 

Polybius ii. 
14. 



II. Italy and Her People 

Italy as a whole is a triangle, of which the eastern side 
is bounded by the Ionian Sea and the Adriatic Gulf, the 
southern and western sides by the Sicilian and Tyrrhenian 
(or Tuscan) seas. These two sides converge to form the 



The Valley of the Po 



15 



The valley 
of the Po. 



Strabo v. 
4- 



apex of the triangle. . . . The third side, or base, of this 
triangle is on the north, and is formed by the chain of the 
Alps, which stretches across the country from Marseilles 
and the Sardinian Sea, with no break, nearly to the head 
of the Adriatic Sea. 

To the south of this range, which I said we must re- 
gard as the base of the triangle, are the most northerly 
plains of Italy, the largest and most fertile, so far as I 
know, in all Europe. This is the district with which we 
are at present concerned. 

It is a superb plain variegated with fruitful hills. The 
Po divides it almost through the midst; one side is called 
Cispadana, and the other Transpadana. Cispadana in- 
cludes the part next to the Apennines, together with Ligu- 
ria ; and Transpadana includes the remainder. The 
Ligurians of the mountains and the Celts of the plain (Or Gauls.) 
occupy Cispadana ; the Celts and the Venetians inhabit 
the other division. 

All Transpadana is full of rivers and marshes, espe- ib. v. i. 5. 
cially the district of the Venetians, which is also washed 
by the tides of the sea. This is almost the only part of 
our sea (the Mediterranean) which, like the ocean, has 
ebb and flow tides. Hence most of the plain is covered 
with lagoons. After the manner of Lower Egypt, the 
inhabitants have dug canals and dikes, so that part of the 
country is drained and cultivated, and the rest is navi- 
gable. Some of their cities stand in the midst of water 
like islands, others are only partially surrounded. Such 
as lie above the marshes in the interior are situated on 
rivers navigable for a surprising distance, for instance the 
Po, which is a large river, constantly swelled by rains and 
snows. As it expands into numerous outlets, its mouth 
cannot easily be seen and is difficult to enter. But expe- 
rience surmounts even the greatest obstacles. 

The fertility of the Po valley is proved by its population, xhe prod- 
the size of the cities, and its wealth ; in all these respects "^ts. 



i6 



Italy and Her People 



Strabo v. 

12. 



The Gauls ; 
their appear- 
ance. 

Diodorus v. 
28. 



the Romans of this country surpass the rest of Italy. The 
cultivated land produces fruits in abundance and of every 
kind, and the woods contain so great a quantity of mast 
that Rome is supplied chiefly from the swine fed there. 
As it is well watered, it produces millet to perfection. This 
condition affords the greatest security against famine, as 
millet resists every severity of climate, and never fails 
even when other grains are scarce. The pitch works are 
amazing, and the casks prove the abvmdance of wine ; 
for the casks, formed of wood, are larger than houses, and 
the great supply of pitch makes them inexpensive. 

The soft wool, which is by far the best, is produced in 
the country round Mutina (modern Modena) and the 
Scultanna River. The coarse wool, on the other hand, 
which forms the main article of clothing among the Italian 
slaves, is grown in Liguria and the country of the Symbri, 
A medium kind, grown about Patavium (modern Padua), 
is used for the finer carpets, cassocks, and everything else 
of the same sort with the wool on one or both sides. The 
mines are not now worked so diligently, because they are 
not equally profitable with those of Transalpine Gaul and 
Iberia. 

The Gauls are tall and fair ; they have naturally red hair, 
which they try to make redder by art. They often wash 
it in water boiled with lime, and turn it back from the fore- 
head to the crown of the head, and from there to their necks, 
that their faces may be more fully seen ; so that they look 
like satyrs and hobgoblins. By this treatment they make 
their hair as hard as a horse's mane. Some of them shave 
their beards ; others let them grow a little. The nobles 
shave their chins close but let their mustaches fall so low 
as to cover their mouths. ... At meal tim.e they all sit, 
not on seats but on the ground, and instead of carpets they 
spread wolves' or dogs' skins under them. Young boys and 
girls, who are mere children, wait on them. 

Near at hand on their hearths are their fires well furnished 



The Gauls 



17 



with pots and spits full of the whole joints of meat ; and 
by way of honor and regard, the best and fairest joints 
they set before their leading men, just as Homer introduces 
the Grecian captains entertaining Ajax, when he returned 
victor from his single combat with Hector. The verse 
reads — 

But Agamemnon, as a favoring sign, 
Before great Ajax set the lusty chine. 



Great meat- 
eaters. 



They invite strangers, too, to their feasts, and after all They are ex' 



is over they ask who they are and what is their business. 
In the very midst of feasting, on any trivial occasion, it is 
a common custom for them to rise in anger, and without 
any regard for their lives, to begin fighting with their 
swords. For the opinion of Pythagoras prevails among 
them, that men's souls are immortal, and that there is a 
transmigration of them into other bodies, and after a cer- 
tain time they live again. . . . 

In their journeys and fights they use chariots drawn by 
two horses, which carry a driver and a soldier ; and when 
they meet horsemen in battle, they fall upon their enemies 
with their javelins ; then quitting their chariots, they come 
to close quarters with their swords. Some of them so 
despise death that they fight naked, with only their loins 
covered. . . . 

To their servants they deliver the spoils of war, all be- 
smeared with blood, to be carried before them in triumph ; 
they themselves in the procession sing the hymn of victory. 
As the chief of their spoils they fasten their slain enemies 
over the doors of their houses, as if they were so many 
wild beasts taken in hunting. The heads of the leading 
men among their enemies they carefully deposit in chests, 
embalming them with the oil of cedar, and showing them to 
strangers, while they glory and boast that their forefathers, 
their fathers, or they themselves have refused to accept 
large sums of money offered for these trophies. . . . 



citable. 
P. 207. 



Greece, p. 95. 



The spoils of 
war. 



i8 



Italy and Her People 



The women 
and children. 

Diodorus v. 
32. 

The Etrus- 
cans. 

Polybius ii. 

17- 

(Phlegraean, 
" Volcanic," 
from the fact 
that the soil 
contained 
much 
volcanic 
matter.) 

Their power. 



Diodorus v. 
40. 



Their learn- 
ing. 

(To the time 
of Diodorus ; 
p. 8.) 



Their garments are peculiar ; they wear gayly colored 
cloaks, interwoven with various kinds of flowers, and they 
have a sort of hose which they call trowsers. Their cas- 
socks they make of basket-work joined together with laces 
on the inside, and checkered with many pieces of designs 
in flowers. Those they wear in winter are thicker ; those 
in summer thinner. . . . 

The women are as tall and as courageous as the men. 
Most of the children, from their very birth, are gray- 
haired ; but when they grow up to men's estate, the color 
of their hair becomes like that of their parents. 

These plains (of the Po) were anciently inhabited by the 
Etruscans, who at the same time occupied the Phlegraean 
plains round Capua and Nola ; the two places last men- 
tioned have been most celebrated, because they were visited 
by many people, and so became known. In speaking then 
of the Etruscan empire, we should not refer to the district 
occupied by them at the present time, but to these northern 
plains, and to what they did when they lived there. 

In ancient times they were valiant, and enjoyed a large 
country, and built many famous cities. With their great 
navy they were masters of the sea which washes the west 
coast of Italy, and which they called Tyrrhenian (or Tuscan), 
after their own name. As one of their military equipments 
they had invented a most useful instrument of war, — the 
trumpet, which from them is called Tyrrhena. To the 
generals of their army they gave as badges of honor an 
ivory throne and a purple robe. They invented porticoes 
for their houses, to avoid the trouble and noise of a crowd 
of servants, and other hangers-on. Introducing these 
customs into their commonwealth, the Romans greatly 
improved them. 

The Etruscans gave themselves up to learning, especially 
to the study of nature. In these researches they were espe- 
cially anxious to discover the meaning of thunder and light- 
ning. To this day, therefore, they are admired by princes 



The Etruscans 



ury. 



the world over, who employ their soothsayers in inter- 
preting the supernatural effects of thunder. 

They enjoy a very rich country, well tilled and improved ; Their lux- 
and so reap abundance of all sorts of fruits, not only for 
necessary food but for pleasure and delight. 

They have their tables spread twice a day, furnished 
with every variety of food, even to luxviry and excess. 

Their carpets are interwoven with flower designs, and 
they use a great many silver cups of many forms. Of 
household servants they have a large number, some very 
beautiful, others rich in apparel, above the condition of 
servants. Slaves and freemen alike have several apart- 
ments allowed them, completely furnished and adorned. 

Finally the Etruscans threw off their primitive sobriety, 
and now live an idle, profligate life in riot and drunken- 
ness. There is no wonder then that they have lost the 
honor and reputation their fathers gained through warlike 
achievements. 

While they were under one authority, they flourished ; 
but after a time as their confederacy was broken and the 
cities fell away from one another, they yielded to the 
violence of neighboring tribes. Otherwise they would 
never have abandoned a fertile country for a life of piracy 
on the sea, to rove from one ocean to another ; for when 
united, they were able not only to repel those who assailed 
them, but to act on the offensive and undertake long 
campaigns. 

The whole of Latium is fertile, and abounds in every Latium. 
product ; we should except a few districts along the coast, Strabo v. 3. 5. 
which are marshy and unhealthful. . . . Some parts 
also may be too mountainous ; yet even these regions are 
not absolutely idle and useless, for they furnish abundant 
pasturage, wood, and the peculiar products of marsh and 
rock. For instance Ceecubum, wholly a marsh, nourishes a 
vine, which produces excellent wine. 

One of the maritime cities of Latium is Ostia. It has Ostia. 



Their 
decline. 

Strabo v. 2. 2, 



20 



Italy and Her People 



(A stadium 
is about 600 
feet.) 

Antium. 



^neas 
comes to 
Latium. 

Strabo v. 3. 2. 
Rome, p. 17 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 265. 



(Lavinium, 
p. 46.) 



no port because of the accumulation of silt brought down 
by the Tiber, which is swelled by many rivers. Vessels 
therefore come to anchor further out, and yet with some 
danger. Gain, however, overcomes everything ; for there 
are many lighters in readiness to freight and unfreight the 
larger ships before they approach the mouth of the river, 
to enable them to finish their voyage speedily. Lightened 
of a part of their cargo, they enter the river and sail up to 
Rome, a distance of a hundred and ninety stadia. Such 
is the city of Ostia founded by Ancus Marcius. 

Next in order is Antium, which is likewise destitute of a 
harbor. It is situated on some rocks about two hundred 
and sixty stadia from Ostia. At present it is devoted to 
the leisure and recreation of statesmen ; there they rest 
from their political duties whenever they can find time. 
The country is therefore covered with sumptuous mansions 
suited to such rusticating. Once the people of Antium had 
a navy ; and after their city fell under the power of Rome, 
some of them joined the Etruscan pirates. 

They say that ^neas, with his father Anchises and his 
son Ascanius, arrived at Laurentum, near Ostia and the 
bank of the Tiber, where he built a city abovit twenty-four 
stadia from the sea. Latinus, king of the Aborigines, who 
then dwelt on the site where Rome now stands, employed 
his forces to aid ^neas against the neighboring Rutulians, 
who inhabited Ardea, a city a hundred and sixty stadia 
from Rome. After gaining the victory, Latinus built near 
the spot a city which he named after his daughter Lavinia. 
But in a second battle, begun by the Rutulians, Latinus 
fell, and ^neas, winning the victory, succeeded to the 
throne. He named his subjects Latins. After he and 
his father had died, Ascanius founded Alba on the Alban 
Mount, about as far from Rome as is Ardea. Here the 
Romans and the Latins jointly offer sacrifice to Jupiter. 
The magistrates all assemble, and during the festival the 
government of the city is intrusted to some distinguished 



Rome 2 1 

youth. The story of Amulius and his brother Numitor, P. 29. 
partly fictitious and in part seemingly true, belongs to a 
period four hundred years later. 

In the interior the first city above Ostia is Rome — the Rome, 
only city built on the Tiber. Its position was fixed by Strabov.s.y. 
necessity rather than choice. We may add that those who 
afterward enlarged it were not at liberty to select a better 
site, as they were prevented by what was already built. 
... It seems to me that the first founders were of the 
opinion, in regard to themselves and their successors, that 
the Romans had to depend not on fortifications but on arms 
and valor, for safety and wealth, and that walls were not a 
defence to men, but men were a defence to walls. At the 
time of its founding, when the large and fertile districts 
about the city belonged to others, and while it lay easily 
open to assault, there was nothing in its position which 
could be looked upon as favorable ; but when by valor and 
labor these districts became its own, there succeeded a 
tide of prosperity which surpassed the advantages of every 
other place. 

Notwithstanding the prodigious increase of the city, Her build- 
there has been plenty of food, and of wood and stone for '"^s. 
ceaseless building, made necessary by the falling down of 
houses, by fires, and by sales, which seem never to cease. 
These sales are a kind of voluntary destruction of houses ; 
each owner tears down and rebuilds one part or another 
according to his own taste. For these purposes the many 
quarries, the forests, and the rivers which convey the 
materials, offer wonderful facilities. . . . 

To avert from the city damages of the kind referred to, 
Augustus Caesar instituted a company of freedmen to lend 
assistance at fires ; and to prevent the falling of houses, 
he decreed that new buildings should not be carried so 
high as formerly, and that those erected along the public 
streets should not exceed seventy feet in height. These 
improvements must have ceased, had it not been for the 




l\.d}y and Her People 



acilities affoided by the quarries, the forests, and the ease 
of transportation. 

Pi3eneste. At Praeneste is the celebrated temple and oracle of 

Fortuna. This city and Tibur are on the same mountain 

Strabo v, 3. chain, and are a hundred stadia apart. Praeneste is two 
hundred stadia from Rome ; Tibur is nearer. It is said 
that both were founded by Greeks, and the name of 
Praeneste used to be Polystephanus (" the city of many 
crowns "). Both are fortified ; but Praeneste is the stronger, 
as its citadel is a lofty mountain which overhangs the town, 
and is divided from the adjoining range by a neck of lower 
ground. In direct altitude the mountain is two stadia 
higher than the neck. In addition to these natural de- 
fences, the city is supplied on all sides with underground 
passages, which extend to the plain ; some convey water, 
the others form secret ways. 

Next in order after Latium is Campania, which extends 
along the Tuscan Sea. . . . This plain is fertile above 
all others, and is entirely surrounded by fruitful hills and 
the Samnite and Oscan mountains. 

The plains about Capua are the best in Italy for fertility 
and beauty and nearness to the sea, and for the harbors, 
into which run the merchants who are sailing to Italy from 
all parts of the world. They contain, too, the most famous 
and beautiful cities of Italy. ... In the centre of these 
plains lies the richest of all the cities, — Capua. No tale 
in all mythology wears a greater appearance of probability 
than that which is told of these lowlands, which like others 

P. 18. of remarkable beauty are called the Phlegraean plains ; for 

surely none are more likely for beauty and fertility to have 
been contended for by the gods. 

In addition to these advantages, they are strongly 
sheltered by nature and difficult of approach ; for one 
side is protected by the sea, and the rest by a long- 
high chain of mountains, through which lead but three 
passes from the interior, all narrow and difficult, — one 



Campania. 

Strabo v. 4. 3. 



Polybius iii. 
91. 



The Samnites 



23 



from Samnium (a second from Latium), and a third from 
Hirpini. 

One proof of the fertihty of this country is that it pro- 
duces the finest corn. I refer to the grain from which a 
groat is made superior to all kinds of rice, and to almost 
all other farinaceous food. They say that some of the 
plains are bearing crops all the year round, — two crops 
of rye, a third of panic, and sometimes a fourth of vege- 
tables. From there, too, the Romans procure their finest 
wines. . . , Furthermore, the whole country round Vena- 
frum, and bordering the plains, is rich in olives. 

The following tradition concerns the origin of the Sam- 
nites. The Sabines, engaged in a long war with the 
Umbrians, made a vow, common with some of the Greek 
nations, that they would consecrate to the gods the prod- 
ucts of the year (or more accurately, of the spring). As 
they were successful, they sacrificed one kind of product 
(their animals) and consecrated the other (fruit). In a 
time of scarcity, however, some one remarked that they 
ought to have consecrated their children as well. This 
then they did ; and the children born in that period were 
called sons of Mars. When they had grown to manhood, 
they were sent forth, with a bull as leader, to found a 
colony. 

The bull lay down to rest in a place belonging to the 
Opici, a people who lived in villages. These inhabitants 
the Sabines drove out, after which they established them- 
selves in the place. By the direction of the seers they 
sacrificed the bull to Mars. It seems to have been with 
reference to this custom of the Sacred Spring that the 
Sabine parents called their colonists by the diminutive 
form " Sabellians." . . . 

Among the Samnites is a law, in itself excellent and 
calculated to stimulate virtue. It is not lawful for fathers 
to give away their daughters to whomsoever they please ; 
but every year ten of the most virtuous young women and 



Strabo v. 4. 3. 



The Sam- 
nites and 
the Sacred 
Spring. 



Strabo v. 4. 



Rome. 



P-3- 



(These colo- 
nists were 
called Sam- 
nites. The 
Sabellians in- 
cluded the 
Sabines and 
all their colo- 
nists.) 



An excellent 
custom. 



24 



Italy and Her People 



(Other Sam- 
nite customs, 
P- 74-) 

Summary of 
Italy. 

Strabo vii. 4. 



ten of the most virtuous young men are selected ; they 
then marry the most excellent young man to the most 
excellent young woman, the second to the second, and so 
in order. Should he who receives such a reward change 
and become wicked, he is dishonored, and his wife is 
taken away from him. 

Such is Italy, as we have described it. We will now 
summarize the qualities which have helped raise the 
Romans to so great a height of prosperity. One point is 
its insular position, by which it is securely guarded ; for 
the seas form a natural protection round it, with the ex- 
ception of a short frontier, which too is fortified by almost 
impassable mountains. A second is that the harbors, 
though few, are capacious and admirably situated. They 
are of great service for enterprises against foreign places, 
for defence against invasions, and for the reception of 
abundant merchandise. A third advantage is the climate, 
in which animals and plants may be accommodated with 
every variety of mild and severe temperature. In length 
it extends north and south ; Sicily, a large island, we 
must consider an addition to it. . . . 

Situated as it is between the extremes of heat and cold, 
and having such a length, it enjoys a great variety of 
temperate climate. This advantage is increased by an- 
other feature ; the Apennines extend through its whole 
length, and leave on each side plains and fruitful hills ; 
so that there is no district which does not enjoy the best 
products of both hill and plain. 

We must notice, too, the number and size of its rivers 
and lakes, and the springs of hot and cold waters supplied 
by nature in various localities for the restoration of health, 
and in addition the great wealth in mines of all the metals, 
the abundance of timber and of excellent food for man 
and for beasts of all kinds. Situated, too, in the midst 
of the greatest nations, — which include Greece and the 
best provinces of Asia, — Italy is naturally in a position 



Sicily 



25 



to gain the ascendency ; for she excels the surrounding 
countries in the valor of her people as well as in extent 
of territory ; and by her nearness to them she seems to 
have been ordained to bring them into subjection without 
difficulty. 

In Sicily, they say, are mountains called Heraea, so Sicily, 
pleasant in situation, and of so sweet an air, that no bet- Diodorus iv. 
ter place can be found for recreation in summer-time ; for ^' 
there are many springs of sweet water, shaded with trees 
of all sorts. There are woods of tall, stately oaks, which 
bear acorns of a vast size, twice as many and twice as big 
as in any other part of the world. 

There likewise grow abundant roots and herbs, wild 
vines and an unspeakable number of melons ; so that once 
a Carthaginian army, when on the point of starvation, was 
there refreshed and saved ; and though so many thousands 
were then fed, plenty remained in the mountains still. 

The Sicilians say this island is dedicated to Ceres and 
Proserpine. Some poets assert that at the marriage of 
Pluto and Proserpine, Jupiter gave the island as a present 
to the bride. The most approved authors, however, say 
that the Sicilians were the earliest human inhabitants and 
possessors, and that the goddesses we have named first 
appeared on earth in this place ; and that from the fatness 
of the soil corn first grew there of itself, — a fact which ^' 
the most eminent of the poets confirms in these words : 

Within this island all things grow 

Without the help of seed or plough, 

As wheat and barley, with the vine, 

From whence proceed both grapes and wine, 

Which with sweet showers from above 

Are brought to ripeness by great Jove. 

For in the country of Leontini, and in many other parts 
of Sicily, wild wheat grows to this very day. . . . 

The abduction of Proserpine, they say, was in the /6. v. 3. 
meadow of Enna, not far from the city, in a place clad in 



Sicilian 
myth. 

(In Greek, 
Hades and 
Persephone ; 
Greece, p. g2.) 



Diodorus v. 



26 



Italy and Her People 



Corsica. 
Diodorus v. 
13- 

lb. V, 14, 



Sardinia. 
Diodorus v. 
IS- 



violets and all sorts of flowers, which afforded a most beau- 
tiful and pleasant sight. It is said that the fragrance of 
the flowers robs hunting dogs of their scent, so as to make 
them incapable of following their prey. 

There is another island called by the Greeks Cyrnus, 
and by the Romans and natives Corsica. ... It is easy 
of access and has a large, beautiful harbor. 

The inhabitants feed upon honey and meat, which this 
country produces plentifully. The natives excel all other 
barbarians in justice and humanity toward one another ; 
for when any one finds honey in a hollow tree in the moun- 
tains, it is without dispute his who finds it. All the sheep 
have their owner's mark set on them, and this sign secures 
the property to their masters, though no shepherd looks 
after them. And in all the associations of life, every one, 
in his own station, observes the rules of common right 
and justice. . . . 

In the island grow many remarkable box-trees, which 
give the bitter taste to their honey. The language of the 
barbarian inhabitants is strange and difficult to learn. 
The population numbers above thirty thousand. 

Next to Corsica lies Sardinia, an island as large as 
Sicily. It is inhabited by barbarians called lolaei, de- 
scended, as they suppose, from lolaus and his fellow-colo- 
nists. . . . Their captain, lolaus, the nephew of Hercules 
on his brother's side, took possession of the island, and 
built on it several famous cities. After dividing the 
country by lot among his people, he gave them his own 
name. Then he built public schools, temples, and other 
useful public works, which remain to this day as monu- 
ments of their founder. . . . 

The oracle foretold that if the colonists bore his name, 
they should be able to maintain their freedom forever ; and 
accordingly their laws and government have continued firm 
and unshaken to this day. For though the Carthaginians, 
in the height of their power, took the island, they could 



The Greatness of Rome 27 

not enslave the people ; for the lolaei fled to the moun- 
tains, and dug underground homes, and kept many herds 
and flocks of cattle, which afforded them enough milk, 
cheese, and meat for food. In leaving the plain, they freed 
themselves from the toil of ploughing and tilling the 
ground, and lived at ease in the mountains, content with 
a mean and moderate fare. . . . And lastly the Romans, 
after mastering the island, have often attempted to reduce 
the people by force of arms ; but for the reason here given, 
they have never succeeded. 

(After making themselves supreme in Italy, the Romans The great- 
conquered Sicily, then Sardinia and Corsica. Afterward Ro^e 
the whole Mediterranean region fell rapidly under their 
sway.) Rome is now mistress of every accessible country ; Dionysius i. 
every sea owns her power. She is the first and only state 3- 
recorded in history which ever made the East and West 
the boundaries of her empire. And her dominion has not 
been of short duration, but more lasting than that of any 
other commonwealth or kingdom. For after the city had 
been founded, she conquered many warlike nations, her 
neighbors, and still advanced, overcoming all opposition. 
... By the conquest of all Italy, she was emboldened to 
proceed even to universal empire ; and having driven the 
Carthaginians from ofif the sea, whose maritime strength 
was superior to all others, she subdued Macedon, the most 
powerful nation by land till that time ; and as no enemy 
was left either among the Greeks or the barbarians, she is 
mistress of the whole world. . . . There is no nation that 
claims a share in her universal power, or refuses obedience 
to it. But I need say no more to prove that I have not 
made choice of a petty subject, or proposed to relate triv- 
ial or obscure actions, but have undertaken the history of 
the most illustrious state and of the most brilliant achieve- 
ments that can possibly be treated. 



28 Italy and Her People 



STUDIES 

1. Could the founders of Rome read and write ? Why could the 
later Romans know nothing of the founding of their city ? From 
whom did the Romans receive the alphabet ? 

2. Which are the more reliable sources, treaties or oral traditions ? 
the pontifical annals or the family chronicles ? political orations or 
funeral orations ? Give reasons. 

3. Why do we consider Fabius Pictor rather than Nsevius the first 
historian ? What are the good qualities of Polybius as an historian ? 
Why did not the Roman historians imitate Polybius ? 

4. What is the difference between an historian and an annalist ? 

5. Why do we class Csesar among the historians ? 

6. What useful historical information may we obtain from the orators 
and the poets ? 

7. What part of Livy's narrative of the kings is trustworthy ? what 
part of his narrative of the republic before the Punic Wars ? Why 
is the remainder of his history more trustworthy ? In what respect 
has a contemporary writer the advantage of later writers ? In what 
respect is he at a disadvantage ? 

8. What are the merits of Tacitus as an historian ? What are his 
defects ? 

9. What is the form of Italy? Describe the valley of the Po River. 
What did that region produce ? 

10. Describe the Gauls. Where did they live ? What did they do 
with the spoils of war ? Describe their women and children. Who 
was Pythagoras ? 

11. Where did the Etruscans live (map, Rome, p. 5 ; Ancient His- 
tory, p. 257)? Describe them. What did the Romans borrow from 
them ? Why did they decline ? 

12. Describe (from the maps, Rome, pp. i, 41 ; Ancient History, pp. 
255, 283) the location of the Po River, the Apennine Mountains, Rome, 
Ostia, Antium, Tibur, Prseneste, Latium, Campania, Cumne, Lavinium, 
Tuscan (or Tyrrhenian) Sea. 

13. What advantages and disadvantages of situation had Rome ? 

14. Describe the Sacred Spring. What other " excellent " custom 
had the Samnites ? 

15. Summarize the good qualities of Italy. 

16. Which is the more desirable country, Sicily or Italy ? Compare 
Sardinia and Corsica with Sicily. 



CHAPTER II 



The Seven Kings — The Prehistoric Age 



753 (?)-509B.c. 

The royal power of -^neas at Alba Longa was handed 
down through several generations to two brothers, Numitor 
and Amulius. Amulius offered his brother the choice 
between the kingship and the royal treasure, including 
the gold brought from Troy. Numitor chose the king- 
ship ; but Amulius, who now possessed all the treasure, 
and thereby more power than his brother, easily dethroned 
him. And as he feared his brother's daughter might have 
children who would avenge their grandfather, Amulius 
made her a priestess of Vesta, sworn to live unmarried 
all her days. This lady is called by some Ilia, by others 
Rhea or Silvia. 

Though a Vestal, she bore to Mars (god of war) twin 
sons of remarkable size and beauty. . . . But neither 
gods nor men protected her or her children from the king's 
cruelty. He had the priestess bound and imprisoned ; 
the children he ordered to be thrown into the current of 
the river. . . . Then his servant placed the infants in a 
cradle, and went down to the river to throw them in ; but 
as he saw it running strong and wild, he feared to come 
near. So laying the cradle on the bank, he went away. 
The river rose, and gently floating off the cradle, carried 
it down to a soft place now called Cermalus. . . . It is said 
that while the infants were lying in this place, a she-wolf 
nursed them, and that a woodpecker came and helped feed 

29 



Numitor and 
Amulius. 

Plutarch, 
Romulus, 3. 



P. 20, 



P. 41 ; Rome, 
p. 29 ; 

Ancient His- 
tory, p. 274. 

Romulus 
and Remus. 

Livy i. 4. 



Plutarch, 
Romulus, 3. 



(Near the 

Palatine 

Mount.) 



30 



The Seven Kings 



Rome, p. 28 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 274. 

Their educa- 
tion. 

Plutarch, 
Komtilus, 6. 



Dionysius i. 
79- 



They plan a 
colony. 

Plutarch, 
Romulus, 9. 



Livy i. 6. 



them and watch over them. These animals are sacred to the 
god Mars ; and the Latins reverence and worship the 
woodpecker. . . . 

Faustulus, the swineherd of Amulius, found the chil- 
dren, but kept them concealed from every one, though some 
say that Numitor knew of the discovery, and shared the 
expense of their education. They were sent to Gabii to 
learn their letters and everything else that well-born chil- 
dren should know ; and they were named Romulus and 
Remus. 

When they came to be men, they showed themselves in 
person and in mind unlike swineherds, but like sons of 
kings and of the gods ; and as such they are still celebrated 
by the Romans in their national hymns. Their life, how- 
ever, was that of herdsmen ; they supported themselves by 
their own work, and lived on the hills in huts made of 
wood and reeds. One, called the hut of Romulus, remains 
even to this day in the corner of the road from the Palatine 
Mount to the Circus (Maximus). It is kept holy by those 
who have charge of such things ; they add to it no orna- 
ments to render it more august ; but if any part of it is 
injured either by storms or by time, they repair the dam- 
age, and try to restore it as nearly as possible to the origi- 
nal condition. 

(When Romulus and Remus had grown to manhood, 
they killed Amulius and replaced Numitor, their grand- 
father, on the throne.) Not wishing, however, to live at 
Alba as subjects, or to reign there during the life of their 
grandfather, they left him the kingship ; and after provid- 
ing for their mother, they planned to dwell by themselves 
and to found a city in the place where they had been 
reared. 

But the desire to be sole ruler interrupted their plans and 
provoked them to a shameful quarrel. As they were twins 
and neither could claim the rights of an elder brother, they 
finally agreed to leave it to the guardian gods of the place to 



The Founding of Rome 3 1 

choose by augury^ which should give his name to the new 
city and govern it when built. Romulus chose the Palatine 
Mount, and Remus the Aventine, as posts of observation. 

The story is that six vultures appeared to Remus, and The found- 
afterward twice as many to Romulus. Some say that ^°^ ° °™^' 
Remus really saw his vultures, but that Romulus pre- Kormdus 9. 
tended only to have seen them. . . . When Remus dis- 
covered the deceit, he was very angry, and while Romulus 
was digging a trench round the city, the brother jeered at 
the work and hindered it. At last as he jumped over (the lb. 10. 
new-built wall), either Romulus or a companion struck him 
dead. 

Soon after founding their city, the Romans made it a lb. 9. 
sacred refuge for people in distress, receiving into it all 
sorts of persons. They refused to give up slaves to their 
masters, debtors to their creditors, or murderers to their 
judges, but declared that in accordance with a Pythian 
oracle ^ the sanctuary was free to all ; so that the city soon 
became full of men, for they say that at first it contained 
no more than a thousand houses. 

Romulus 

Appointed king, Romulus proved himself brave and The tribes 
skilful in war and wise in the adoption of a most excellent curiae.^ 
form of government. He divided the whole population Dionysius ii. 
into three parts, each of which he placed under the com- 7-14 . 
mand of a distinguished person. Then dividing these 
parts into ten companies, he appointed the bravest men 
to be their leaders. The larger divisions he calls tribes, 
and the smaller curies. The leaders of the tribes were 
tribunes ; those of the curiae were curiones. 

1 Augury was the process of learning the divine will by watching the signs 
sent by the gods. The augurs were the religious officials who attended to 
this service; see Rome, p. 29; Ancient History, p. 275. 

2 That is, an oracle, or prophecy, of the Pythian or Delphic Apollo ; see 
Gi'eece, p. 99. 



32 



The Seven Kings 



The social 
ranks. 



The patrons 
and the 
clients. 



(Dionysius 
is probably 
wrong in as- 
suming that 
all plebeians 
became cli- 
ents.) 



Another division of the population he made on the 
principle of honor and worth. Those who, illustrious 
by birth and commended for their virtue, were well-to- 
do and had children, he separated from the ignoble 
and base and needy. Those of inferior fortune he called 
plebeians ; the better class he named patres (fathers) 
because they were older than the rest, or because they 
had children, or on account of their illustrious birth, or 
for all these reasons. Their descendants were called 
patricians. Whenever the king wished to bring the 
patricians together, his heralds used to summon them 
by their own name and that of the father ; but the com- 
mon people were called to the assembly by servants, who 
went about trumpeting on ox-horns. 

After Romulus had distinguished the nobles from the 
commons, he passed laws to regulate the duties of each 
rank. The nobles were to be priests, magistrates, and 
judges, and were to help him manage the affairs of the 
city. The commons he excused from this business, for 
they had neither experience in such matters nor leisure to 
attend to them. They were to farm, to rear cattle, and to 
carry on the money-making industries, that they might have 
no time for party strife, such as we find in other cities, 
where those in office abuse the lower classes, and the base 
and needy envy the richer citizens. 

Placing the plebeians as a trust in the hands of the patri- 
cians, he permitted each commoner to choose as patron the 
noble whom he wished. The patrons were to explain the 
laws to their clients, who were ignorant of such matters, 
and to watch over their business affairs as a father does 
for his children, to sue for them when they were unjustly 
treated, and to defend them when sued. The clients were 
to contribute to the dowry of their patron's daughters, to 
furnish the ransom in case the patron or his son should be 
taken captive, to pay their lord's fines, and to bear part 
of the expenses of the offices he held, that he might per- 



Government and Religion 



33 



form his public duties with becoming dignit}^ It was im- 
pious for patron and client to accuse each other or to 
testify or vote against each other. 

After making these arrangements, Romulus resolved to 
appoint councillors who were to help him manage the gov- 
ernment. For this purpose he selected a hundred men from 
the patricians, and called this council the senate. He 
made also an assembly of commons, to which he granted 
three powers, — the election of magistrates, the ratification 
of laws, and the decision of questions of war and peace. 
The resolutions of the assembly, however, had no force 
unless the senate approved them. 

The most effective of all the arrangements of Romulus — 
the one which did most not only to maintain the freedom 
of Rome, but also to win for her the supremacy over other 
states — was the law which bade the Romans not to mas- 
sacre or enslave conquered peoples or to lay waste their 
land, but to settle part of the conquered territory with 
Roman citizens, to found colonies in some conquered 
towns, and to give others the Roman citizenship. The 
kings who followed him, and still later the annual magis- 
trates (consuls), carried out his liberal policy to such an 
extent that in time the Roman nation came to excel all 
others in population. 

The care of religion he intrusted to many persons. In 
no other newly built city could be found so many priests and 
attendants of the gods. . . . Each curia elected two men 
above fifty years of age, of noble birth, of good character 
and sufficient wealth, and of sound body, to act as priests 
for the remainder of their lives, exempt from military and 
political duties. And as it was necessary that the women 
and the children should have some part in performing re- 
ligious rites, Romulus enacted that the wives of priests 
should assist their husbands in religious services, and that 
the women and children should attend to those ceremonies 
which could not lawfully be performed by men. 



(We infer 
that the 
clients had 
a right to 
vote.) 

The senate 
and the 
assembly. 



{The coniitia 
cur lata.) 



The liber- 
ality of 
Rome 
toward 
strangers. 

Dionysius ii. 
i6. 



Religion. 

Dionysius ii. 



/ 



34 



The Seven Kings 



The power of 
the father. 

Dionysius ii. 
26, 



Rome, p. 73 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 301. 



(The consul 
who put his 
son to death 
for disobedi- 
ence ; p. 74.) 

Dionysius ii. 
27. 



The Romans 
need wives. 

Livy i. 9. 



Romulus gave the father absolute, lifelong power over 
the son, including the right to scourge him, to bind him and 
compel him thus to toil in the fields, or to put him to death, 
even if the son chanced to be engaged in public affairs, 
even if he were occupying high offices or were being com- 
mended for his public liberality. According to this law, 
illustrious men, while delivering from the rostra harangues 
against the senate but in favor of the people, men who for 
this reason were highly popular, have been dragged from 
the rostra by their fathers to suffer whatever punishment 
the latter should think right. And while these sons were 
led away through the market-place, no one was able to res- 
cue them — neither the consul, nor tribune of the plebs, nor 
the mob whom they were flattering, and who considered its 
own power superior to all authority. I will not mention 
those whom fathers have slain, good men moved by virtue 
and zeal to achieve some noble deed forbidden by their 
parent. Such was the case with Manlius Torquatus and 
many others, in regard to whom I shall speak at the proper 
time. 

The Roman legislator did not limit the father's authority 
at this point, but gave him permission to sell the son . . . 
granting to the father more power over the son than to the 
master over his slaves ; for if a slave is sold and afterward 
given his liberty, henceforth he remains free, whereas if 
the son is sold by the father and then liberated, he falls 
again under the paternal power, and a second time in like 
manner ; not till after the third sale does he become free 
from his father. 

And now the Roman state had grown so powerful that 
in war it was a match for any of the neighboring nations, 
but from the scarcity of women its greatness could last 
for one generation only. ... By the advice of the fathers 
(senators), therefore, Romulus sent ambassadors to the 
neighboring states to ask for an alliance and the privilege 
of intermarriage for his new subjects. . . . 



The Sabine Women 



35 



Nowhere did the embassy receive a favorable hearing, 
so much did the neighbors despise them ; at the same 
time the surrounding nations feared, for themselves and 
their posterity, this mighty power which was growing up 
in their midst. The messengers were dismissed by the 
greater number of states with the repeated question, 
" Have you opened a place of refuge for women also ? 
For such an institution only could obtain you suitable 
matches." The Roman youth resented this reply bitterly, 
and the matter began unquestionably to point to violence. 
To afford a favorable time and place for the use of force, 
Romulus, hiding his resentment, prepared games in honor 
of the equestrian Neptune. These games he called Con- 
sualia. He then gave orders that the show should be 
advertised among the neighbors. Meanwhile the Romans 
were preparing for the celebration with all the magnifi- 
cence they were then acquainted with, that they might 
make the event famous. Great numbers, especially of the 
nearest neighbors, assembled from a desire to see the new 
city. Moreover the whole multitude of the Sabines came 
with their wives and children. They were hospitably 
received in the different houses ; and when they had seen 
the location, the fortifications, and the city itself crowded 
with houses, they were astonished that the Roman power 
had increased so rapidly. The time of the show came, 
and while the minds and the eyes of the visitors were 
intent upon it, according to agreement a tumult arose, 
and at a given signal the Roman youth ran different 
ways to carry off the maidens by force. A great number 
were taken at haphazard, just as they fell into the hands 
of the Romans. . . . 

As the festival was broken up by this alarm, the parents 
of the young women retired in grief, complaining that the 
sacred law of hospitality had been trampled upon, and 
invoking the god to whose festival and games they had 
come, deceived by the pretence of religion and good faith. 



Their neigh- 
bors refuse 
inter- 
marriage. 



(God of the 
sea, and of 
horses.) 



The Sabine 
maidens are 
taken by 
force. 



36 



The Seven Kings 



They be- 
come the 
wives of 
the cap- 
tors. 



Tarpeia be- 
trays the 
citadel. 



(God of the 
forest.) 



Propertius v. 
4- 



(The yard in 
which Gtood 
the curia, or 
senate- 
house.) 



Neither had the captive maidens better hopes or less 
indignation. But Romulus went personally about and 
declared that what was done was owing to the pride of 
their fathers, who had refused to grant the privilege 
of marriage to their neighbors. " The young women, 
however," he continued, " shall be joined in lawful wed- 
lock ; they shall participate in all the property and in the 
civil privileges of their husbands and in their common 
children — a possession most dear to the human heart." 
He begged them to calm their fierce anger, and cheerfully 
yield their affections to those to whom fortune had given 
their persons. " From injuries," he explained, " love and 
friendship often arise ; and you will find us kinder hus- 
bands for this reason, that each of us will endeavor to the 
utmost of our power to make up for the want of your 
parents and native country," To this plea the caresses 
of the husbands were added, excusing what they had done 
on the ground of passion and love — arguments which 
work most successfully on women's hearts. 

(Between Rome and the neighboring states arose a fierce 
war, in the course of which Tarpeia, a Roman maiden, 
betrayed the Capitoline citadel to Titus Tatius, king of the 

Sabines.) 

Tarpeia's grove, Tarpeia's shame I'll tell, 
And all the tale how Jove's old fortress fell. 
Wall'd round with ivy crags a wood there lay, 
Where whispering leaves the murm'ring rills repay, 
Silvanus' home — and from the sultry air 
His pipe oft called the flocks to watering there. 
But Tatius now had staked the fount around, 
And ringed his camp for safety with a mound. 
Where then was Rome what time the trumpet-swell 
Awoke the echoes of Jove's rocky dell ? 
And Sabine arms were piled, and flags unfurl'd, 
Where sits that senate now that rules the world ? 
Rome's only wall was hill, one lonely spring 
The war-horse drank, where now's the Curian ring ; 
And with the pitcher poised upon her hair, 
Tarpeia fill'd it oft for Vesta there. 



Tarpeia 37 



Ah ! holy goddess, could one death alone 
For false betrayal of thy hearth atone ? 
Oft Tatius on the plain the maid had seen, 
His sword bright flashing to the helmet's sheen ; 
Had marked his regal port, his arms of gold, 
And dropped the urn her hands forgot to hold. 
Then would she chide the moon, whose harmless beam 
Oft gave pretence for washing in the stream. 
And buy with lily flowers the wood-nymphs' grace, 
Lest Roman spear should mar her loved one's face. 
Oft would she climb the hill at misty morn, 
Her arms all bleeding, and with brambles torn. 
And o'er her love in Jove's own house would wail. 
To ears that ill could brook so foul a tale. 
"Ah, watchful fires, dear tent where Tatius lies, 
Ye Sabine arms, so beauteous to my eyes, 
Would heaven I miglit with you a captive dwell. 
Only to gaze on one I love so well ! 
Farewell to Rome ; farewell Rome's mountain wall, 
And Vesta's hearth dishonored by my fall ! " 

It chanced that day completed stood the wall, 
'Twas Pales' festival, and idlesse all, (Goddess of 

The yearly holiday, where shepherds meet, ^ epier s.) 

And store of rustic dainties chokes the street. 
While staggering clowns through heaps of lighted hay 
In drunken revel take their grimy way. 

The guards at ease obey'd their chieftain's will, 
The trumpet slept awhile, the lines were still. 
Tarpeia marked the moment, met the foe. 
With plighted word herself the path to show ; 
Slow up the slumb'ring hill they wound their way, 
The slaughter'd watch-dog call'd them not to stay : 
All, all was hushed in sleep, great Jove alone 
Kept watchful sentry to avenge his own. 
Her sleeping friends, her post betray'd had she. 
And asked the marriage lot she claimed for fee ; 
But Tatius, grudging guilt's base guerdon, cried, 
"Thus, thus, my queen, I wed thee to my side." 
Crushed deep in piles of armor down she fell, 
A dowry that beseem'd the traitress well. 

The mount still bears Tarpeius' name, to be 
A guerdon for its guard's calamity. 



38 



The Seven Kings 



The treaty. 



Plutarch, 
Romulus, 19. 



Romulus 
ascends to 
heaven. 

Livy i. 15. 



lb. 16. 



(In this way Tatius gained possession of the citadel ; 
but when soon afterward his army met the Romans in 
battle in the valley afterward occupied by the Forum, the 
captive women threw themselves between the opposing 
forces and put an end to the war.) 

In conference it was decided that those women who 
chose to do so might continue to live with their husbands, 
free from all duties except the work of spinning wool ; 
that the Romans and the Sabines should dwell together 
in the city ; and that the city should be called Rome, after 
Romulus, but the Romans should be called Quirites after 
(Cures), the native city of Tatius ; and that both kings 
should reign and command the army together. 

Romulus was dearer to the people than to the fathers 
(senators) ; but above all he was beloved by the soldiers. 

While he was holding an assembly of the people for re- 
viewing his army, in the plain near the lake of Capra, 
suddenly a storm, arising with heavy thunder and light- 
ning, enveloped the king in so dense a mist that it hid him 
from the assembly. After this he was no more seen on 
earth. . . . But while the state was still troubled with re- 
gret for the king . . . Proculus Julius came forward in the 
assembly and said, " Romulus, the father of this city, sud- 
denly descending from heaven, appeared to me this morning 
at daybreak. While I stood in awe and religious dread, 
beseeching him to allow me to see him face to face, he 
said, ' Go tell the Romans that the gods so will that my 
Rome shall become the capital of the world. Therefore 
let them cultivate the art of war, and let them know and 
tell their children that no human power shall be able to 
withstand the Roman arms.' After saying this he ascended 
to heaven." It is surprising what credit was given to the 
man on making this announcement, and how much the 
regret of the common people and of the army for the loss 
of Romulus was calmed by the assurance of his immor- 
tality. 



Numa 



39 



Plutarch, 
Numa, 3. 



Many such improbable tales are related by story-tellers Plutarch, 
who assume that the earthly parts of our bodies are ^'""«''«-^. 28. 
deified along with the spiritual parts. It is wicked and 
base to deny that virtue is a spiritual quality, but foolish 
to mix earthly with heavenly things. Let us believe with 
Pindar that — 

All human bodies yield to death's decree, 
The soul survives to all eternity. 

It was in the fifty-fourth year of his age, and the thirty- ib. 29. 
eighth of his reign, that Romulus, they tell us, left the 
world. 

Numa Pompilius 

Numa Pompilius belonged to a celebrated Sabine city Character, 
named Cures, from which the united Romans and Sabines 
called themselves Quirites. He was the son of Pomponius, 
an honorable citizen, and was the youngest of four brothers. 
By a wonderful coincidence he was born on the very day on 
which Romulus founded Rome — the twenty-first of April. 
His naturally good disposition had been so educated by 
sorrow and philosophic studies that he rose superior not 
merely to commonplace vices, but even to the worship of 
brute force — so common among barbarians — and consid- 
ered true courage to be the conquest of his own passions. 

It was in Numa's fortieth year that envoys came from 
Rome to ask him to be king. . . . As he refused the offered 
crown, the Romans used every kind of entreaty to induce 
him to accept it, begging him not to plunge the state into 
civil war, for there was no other man whom all would agree 
to receive as their king. 

When he had made up his mind, he sacrificed to the 
gods, and then started for Rome. The senate and people 
met him and showed great affection for him ; the matrons lb. 7- 
greeted him, and there were sacrifices in the temples, and 
every one was as joyous as if he had received a kingdom 
instead of a king. 



Ib.s. 



Ib.6. 



40 



The Seven Kings 



His religious 
institutions. 

Livy i. 19. 



(Argiletum, 
a piece of 
ground be- 
tween the 
Quirinal and 
the Forum.) 



He encour- 
ages agri- 
culture. 

Plutarch, 
Nu?na, 16. 



He organizes 
guilds. 

Plutarch, 
Numa, 17. 



After Numa had been made king in this way, he set 
about founding anew, on the principles of law and morals, 
the city recently established by force of arms. When he 
saw that the spirit of the citizens, rendered savage by 
miUtary life, could not be reconciled to those principles 
during the continuance of wars, he concluded that his 
fierce nation should be softened by the disuse of arms. 
At the foot of Argiletum, therefore, he erected a temple of 
Janus as an index of peace and war ; when open, it should 
show that the state was engaged in war, and its closing 
should signify that all the neighboring nations were at 
peace with Rome. Twice only since the reign of Numa 
has this temple been closed. 

Though the city possessed originally but a small territory, 
Romulus by conquest had greatly enlarged it. All this 
acquired land Numa distributed among the needy citizens, 
thereby removing from them the want which urged them 
to deeds of violence ; and by turning the people's thoughts 
to husbandry, he caused them to grow more civilized as 
their land improved. No work makes people such pas- 
sionate lovers of peace as that of a man who tills his own 
land ; for he retains enough of the warlike spirit to fight 
fiercely in defence of his own property, but has lost all 
desire to wrong and spoil his neighbors. It was for this 
reason that Numa encouraged agriculture among the Ro- 
mans as a spell to charm war away ; and he loved the 
occupation more because of its influence on men's minds 
than because of the wealth it produced. 

He organized the people, according to their trades, in 
guilds of musicians, goldsmiths, builders, dyers, shoe- 
makers, curriers, coppersmiths, and potters. All the 
other trades he united in one guild. He assigned to 
every guild its especial privileges, common to all the mem- 
bers, and ordained that each should have its own times 
of meeting and should worship its special patron god. 

Next he turned his attention to the appointment of 



The Priest of Jupiter 



41 



priests, though he himself performed many sacred rites, 
especially those which now belong to \h^ flamen (priest) of 
Jupiter. 

It is a crime for the fiamen of Jupiter to ride horseback 
or to see the centuries under arms ; for this reason he has 
rarely been elected consul. He is not permitted to take 
an oath ; the ring he wears must be hollow and of open 
work. No fire may be carried from his house but the 
sacred fire. If a man enters that house bound, he must 
be unbound, and the bonds must be carried through the 
inner court up the roof and thrown into the street. The 
flamen has no knot about him, either on his cap, his girdle, 
or any other part. If a man who is about to be beaten 
with rods falls at his feet as a suppliant, the guilty one 
cannot be beaten that day without sacrilege. None but 
a freeman may cut a fiamen's hair. He never touches or 
names a she-goat, raw flesh, hair, or beans. He must not 
clip the tendrils of the vine that climbs too high. The 
feet of the bed he sleeps in must be plastered with mud. 
He never quits it three consecutive nights, and no one 
else has the right to sleep therein. There must not be 
near the woodwork of his bed a box with sacred cakes in 
it. The parings of his nails and the cuttings of his hair 
are covered with earth at the foot of a fruit tree. For him 
all days are holy days. He is not allowed to go into the 
open air without the apex (conical cap) ; and even as to 
remaining bareheaded under his own roof, the pontiffs 
have only quite recently decided that he may do so. 

Numa also selected maidens for Vesta, to fill a priest- 
hood derived from Alba and closely connected with the 
family of the founder of Rome. That they might be con- 
stant attendants in the temple, he appointed them salaries 
from the public treasury ; and by requiring them to re- 
main unmarried and to perform various religious rites, he 
made them sacred and venerable. 

He ordained that the Vestal virgins should continue 



He appoints 
priests. 

Livy i. 20. 

The priest 
of Jupiter. 

AulusGellius 
X. 15 (quoted 
from i'"abius 
Pictor.) 

Rome, pp. 22, 
28 ; Ancient 
History, pp. 
271, 274. 



The Vestal 
virgins. 

Livy i. 20. 



42 



The Seven Kings 



Plutarch, 
Numa lo. 



The worship 
of the dead. 

Ovid, Fasti, 
ii- 533 ff- 
(The festival 
to the dead 
was cele- 
brated on 
February 
19. Styx, the 
river which 
bounds the 
world of the 
dead.) 



(Because the 
deaths were 
so numer- 
ous.) 



unmarried thirty years ; during the first ten years they 
were to learn their duties, during the next ten they were 
to perform them, and during the last they were to teach 
others. After this period any of them who wished might 
marry and cease to be priestesses ; but it is said that very 
few took advantage of this privilege and that those few 
were not happy. By their regrets and sorrow for the life 
they had left, they made the others scruple to leave it and 
prefer to remain maidens till their death. 

Honor is paid also to the graves of the dead. Appease 
the spirits of your forefathers, and offer small presents to 
the pyres that have long been cold. The shades of the 
dead ask but humble offerings : affection rather than 
costly gifts pleases them ; Styx below has no greedy divin- 
ities. Enough for them is the covering of their tomb 
overshadowed with the chaplets laid there, and the scat- 
tered fruits and the little grain of salt, and corn soaked 
in wine, and violets loosened from the stem ; let these 
gifts be placed in a jar in the middle of the way, I do 
not forbid more costly offerings, but by these mentioned 
the shade may be appeased. After erecting the altars, 
add prayers and suitable words. 

This custom ^neas, an apt teacher of the duties of 
affection, introduced into thy lands, just Latinus. He 
used to offer the annual gifts to the spirit of his father ; 
hence the adjoining nations learned the affectionate cere- 
mony. But at one time when they were engaged in a long 
war, with contentious arms, they neglected the Parental 
days. It was not with impunity that they did so ; for 
from that ill omen, Rome felt the heat of the funeral fires 
in the suburbs. For my part I scarcely can believe it, 
but it is said that their deceased forefathers came forth 
from their tombs, and uttered their complaints in the hours 
of the still night. And they say that appalling ghosts, 
a phantom crowd, howled through the city and the fields 
of Latium. Afterward the omitted honors were paid at 



Festivals 



43 



the graves, and there came an end of these portentous 
sights and of the deaths as well. 

But while they are celebrating these rites, remain un- 
wedded, ye maidens ; let the torch of pine wood await 
auspicious days. And let not the curved spear part thy 
virgin ringlets, thou maiden who appearest to thy impa- 
patient mother already of marriageable years. Conceal 
thy torches, Hymenaeus, and remove them afar from these 
dismal fires, — the gloomy tombs have other torches than 
these. Let the gods, too, be concealed, with the doors 
of their temples closed ; be the fires without incense, and 
let the hearths stand without fire. Abroad now wander 
phantom spirits, and bodies that have been committed to 
the tombs. Now the ghost feeds on the food left for 
it. . . . 

The kinsfolk, full of affection, have named the next day 
the Carisfia, and the company of relatives assemble at the 
family feast. In good truth it is a pleasant thing to turn 
our attention from the tombs and from our relatives who 
are dead, to those who survive ; and after so many are 
lost, to see all that remains of our family, and to reckon 
the degrees of relationship. . . . 

When the night has passed away, then let the god who 
by his landmark divides the fields be worshipped with the 
accustomed honors. Terminus, whether thou art a stone, 
or whether a stock sunk deep in the earth by the ancients, 
yet even in this form dost thou possess divinity. Thee 
the two owners of adjoining fields crown with chaplets 
from their opposite sides, and present with two garlands and 
two cakes. They build an altar ; the peasant's wife brings 
in a broken pan the fire taken from the burning hearth. 

An old man cuts up the firewood, and piles it high when 
chopped, and strives hard to drive the branches into the 
resisting ground. While he is exciting the kindling blaze 
with dried bark, a boy stands by and holds in his hands a 
broad basket. Out of this, when the father has thrice 



" Let none 

then 

marry." 

(The pine 
torch was 
carried in the 
marriage 
procession. 
The parting 
of the hair 
with a spear 
was a mar- 
riage cere- 
mony. Hy- 
menseus was 
the god of 
marriage.) 



The Caristia. 



The festival 
of the 
corner- 
stones. 



44 



The Seven Kings 



Peace and 
happiness. 

Plutarch, 
Numa, 20. 



thrown the produce of the earth into the midst of the 
flames, his Uttle daughter offers the sHced honeycombs. 
Others have wine ; a portion of each thing is thrown into 
the fire ; the crowd, all arrayed in white, look on and keep 
a religious silence. Terminus is sprinkled, too, with the 
blood of a slain lamb ; he makes no complaint when a 
young pig is offered him. The neighbors meet in suppli- 
cation, and they celebrate the feast and sing thy praise, 
holy Terminus. It is thou that dost set the limits to na- 
tions, and cities, and mighty kingdoms ; without thee the 
whole country would be steeped in litigation. 

Not only was the spirit of the Romans subdued and 
pacified by the gentle and just character of their king, but 
even the neighboring cities, as if some soothing, healthful 
air was breathed over them from Rome, altered their 
habits, and longed to live quiet and well-governed lives, 
cultivating the earth, bringing up their families in peace, 
and worshipping the gods. Gay festivals and entertain- 
ments, during which the people of various states fearlessly 
mixed with one another, prevailed throughout Italy ; for 
Numa's knowledge of all that was good and noble was 
shed abroad like water from a fountain, and the atmosphere 
of holy calm by which he was surrounded spread over all 
men. The very poets when they spoke of that peaceful 
time were unable to find fitting expressions for it, as one 
writes — 

Across the shields are cobwebs laid, 

Rust eats the lance and keen-edged blade; 

No more we hear the trumpet's bray, 

And from our eyes no more is slumber chased away. 



lb. 21. We are told by Piso that Numa died, not by a sudden 

(Piso, an death but by slow decay from sheer old age, after living a 

annalist of ^•..^ .1 • 1 . 

the time of httle more than eighty years. 

the Gracchi.) 



The King's Lands 



45 



TULLUS HOSTILIUS 



After the death of Numa Pompilius the senate, invested 
with the whole power of the state, resolved to retain the 
same form of government (the kingship) ; and as the people 
did not oppose their resolution, they appointed some of the 
oldest senators to govern, as iiiterrcges, each for a certain 
number of days. Under them, according to the unanimous 
wish of the people, Tullus Hostilius was chosen king. . . . 

Immediately upon his accession he gained the hearts of 
the lowest and poorest class of the people by a most mag- 
nificent deed. The kings who had ruled before him pos- 
sessed extensive and fertile lands. The revenues from 
them not only supplied the kings with victims for sacrifices, 
but plentifully furnished their table. These lands Romu- 
lus had won by conquest and had expelled the former 
owners. As he died without children, Numa Pompilius, 
his successor, had enjoyed the estates. They were no 
longer public property but the domains of the king. 
These lands Tullus caused to be divided equally among 
such of the Romans as had none ; for he said that his own 
patrimony was sufficient both for the sacrifices and for the 
expense of his table. By this act of humanity he relieved 
the poorer class and freed them from the necessity of 
being servants to others. And that none might want a 
dwelling-place, he added to the city the Caelian Hill, on 
which those Romans who lacked dwellings had as much 
ground allotted to them as they needed. There they built 
houses ; and he himself fixed his abode in that place. 

Tullus was not only unlike the preceding king, but was 
of a more warlike disposition than even Romulus had been. 
. . . Thinking therefore that the state was growing weak 
through quiet, he everywhere sought pretexts for stirring 
up war. It happened that some Roman and Alban peas- 
ants had plundered each other's lands. . . . From both 
sides ambassadors were sent almost at the same time to 



Election. 

Dionysius 



Rome, p. 26 ; 
Avcient His- 
tory, p. 273. 

He gives 
lands to the 
needy. 



His war 
with Alba 
Longa. 

Livy i. 22, 



46 



The Seven Kings 



The charac- 
ter of the 
war. 

Livy i. 23. 



The champi- 
ons. 

Livy i, 24. 



The contest. 

Livy i. 25. 



demand restitution. TuUus ordered his agents to attend 
to nothing before their instructions. He knew well that 
the Albans would refuse, and that for this reason war 
might be proclaimed on just grounds. 

Both sides prepared for the struggle with the utmost 
vigor. It was very like a civil war — almost a war between 
parents and children, as both were Trojan offspring. For 
from Troy came Lavinium, from Lavinium Alba, and the 
Romans were descended from the line of Alban kings. 
The result of the war, however, rendered the quarrel less 
distressing, for no battle took place ; but merely after the 
houses of one of the cities had been torn down, the two 
states were incorporated into one. 

It happened that there were in each of the two armies 
three brothers born at one birth, equal in age and in 
strength. That they were called Horatii and Curiatii is 
certain ; nor is there any ancient event more celebrated. 
Yet in a matter so well known a doubt lingers as to which 
nation the Horatii and to which the Curiatii belonged. 
Authors claim them for both sides ; yet I find more who 
call the Horatii Romans. My inclination leads me to 
follow them. Conferring with the three brothers, the 
kings bade them fight with their swords, each for his own 
country, telling them that dominion would be on that side 
with which victory should rest. As they did not refuse, 
the time and the place were agreed upon. Before they 
engaged, a treaty was made between the Romans and the 
Albans on these conditions, that the state whose cham- 
pions should win the combat was to rule the other without 
further dispute. 

After the conclusion of the treaty the brothers, as had 
been agreed, took arms. To encourage them, their 
respective friends reminded them that their country's gods, 
their fatherland, and parents, all their countrymen both at 
home and in the army, had their eyes then fixed on the 
arms and the hands of the champions. Meanwhile the 



Contest with Alba Longa 47 

brothers, naturally brave and animated by the encourage- 
ments of their friends, were advancing into the space be- 
tween the two lines. The arinies sat down before their 
camps, free rather from present danger than from anxiety ; 
for the sovereign power depended on the valor and fortune 
of these few champions. Eager and anxious, therefore, 
they riveted their attention upon a sight by no means 
pleasing. The signal was given, and the three youths on 
each side as in battle array rushed furiously to the charge, 
bearing in their hearts the spirits of mighty armies. None 
regarded his personal danger, for all had in mind the 
dominion or slavery of the state and the fortune of their 
country, which was destined thereafter to be such as they 
should now make it. 

As soon as their arms clashed on the first encounter, 
and their burnished swords glittered, great fear struck 
the spectators ; and as hope inclined to neither side, the 
voice and breath were suspended. When the champions 
engaged hand to hand, not only the motions of their 
bodies, the rapid darting of missiles and the sword 
thrusts, but wounds also and blood were seen. Two of 
the Romans fell lifeless, one upon the other, and the 
three Albans were wounded. When the Alban army 
raised a shout of joy at the fall of their foemen, hope 
deserted the Roman legions, but not anxiety, as they were 
alarmed for the lot of the one whom the three Curiatii 
threatened. 

He chanced to be unhurt, so that, though alone he was 
no match for them all together, he was confident against 
each singly. In order therefore to separate their attack, 
he took to flight, presuming that they would pursue him 
with such swiftness as their wounded bodies should per- 
mit. He had fled some distance from the place of 
combat, when on looking round he saw them chasing 
him at wide intervals from one another, and one of them 
not far behind. On the nearest one he turned with great 



48 The Seven Kings 

fury ; and while the Alban army was shouting to the 
Curiatii to assist their brother, Horatius after slaying his 
foe proceeded victorious to a second attack. The aston- 
ished Romans encouraged their champion with a shout, 
while he hastened to end the struggle. Before the third 
Curiatius could reach him, though near at hand, Horatius 
despatched the second. 

In this way the contest was reduced to an equality of 
numbers, one to each side ; but they were equal neither 
in hope nor in strength. The one unhurt drew from his 
double victory courage for a third contest ; the other, 
dragging along his body, weary with the wound and 
with running, and dispirited by the slaughter of his 
brothers before his eyes, presented himself to his vic- 
torious foe. There was no fight. Exultingly the Roman 
said, " Two I have offered to the shades of my brothers ; 
the third I will grant to the cause of this war, that the 
Roman may rule over the Alban." He thrust his sword 
into the throat of his foe, who was with difificulty sustain- 
ing the weight of his armor. The victor stripped the 
enemy as he lay prostrate. The Romans then received 
Horatius with applause and congratulations ; they were 
all the more delighted because success had followed so 
close upon fear. (Alba Longa was then destroyed and 
the inhabitants were removed to Rome and made citizens.) 
The growth Meanwhile Rome was enlarged by the destruction of 
of Rome. Alba. The number of citizens was doubled ; the Cselian 
Livy 1. 30. Mount was annexed to the city ; and in order that it 
might be more thickly peopled, Tullus chose that quarter 
for his palace and there took up his abode. The leading 
Albans he enrolled among the fathers (senators). . . . And 
as a consecrated place of meeting for that body thus in- 
creased by him, he built the senate-house which down to 
the age of our fathers was called Hostilia. And that 
every rank might acquire some additional strength from 
the new people, he formed ten troops of horsemen from 



Growth of Rome 



49 



among the Albans ; he likewise recruited the old legions 
and added new ones. 

Tullus reigned two and thirty years with great military lb. 31. 
renown. 

Angus Marcius 



His achieve- 
ments. 

Livy i. 33. 



On the death of Tullus the government devolved once Election, 
more upon the senate, which nominated an interrex. Livy i. 32, 
Under his presidency the people in their coinitia (assem- 
bly) elected Ancus Marcius king, and their choice was 
sanctioned by the fathers. . . . The genius of Ancus was of 
a middle kind, partaking of that of Numa and of Romulus. 

After committing the care of religion to the priests, he 
set out with a new army which he had levied, and took 
Politorium, a city of the Latins. Following the example 
of former kings, who had increased the Roman state by 
giving conquered enemies the citizenship, he removed all 
the people to Rome. 

Such accessions of citizens increased the state ; but in 
so great a multitude crimes were secretly committed. The 
king therefore built a prison in the heart of the city, over- 
looking the Forum, to intimidate lawless persons. And 
not only did the city increase in population under this 
king, but the territory also grew in area and the bounda- 
ries were extended. He took the Mesian forest from the 
people of Veil, and extended the Roman dominion to the 
sea. The city of Ostia he built at the mouth of the Tiber. 

Ancus reigned twenty-four years, equal to any of the 
former kings in the arts and renown of war and peace. 



lb. i. 35. 



Lucius Tarquinius Priscus 

After the death of Ancus Marcius the senate, empowered Election, 

by the people to establish whatever form of government Dionysius iii, 

it thought fit, again resolved to continue the kingship, and '^'^' 
appointed interreges (one after another) . Under the presi- 



50 



The Seven Kings 



He enlarges 
the senate. 

Livy i. 35. 



His public 
works. 

Livy i. 38. 



Servius Tul- 
lius. 

Livy i. 39. 



dency of one of these magistrates, the people in their as- 
sembly chose Lucius Tarquinius king. 

The same ambition which had prompted Tarquin, in 
other respects an excellent man, to aspire to the crown, 
followed him during his reign. No less mindful of strength- 
ening his own power than of increasing that of the state, he 
elected a hundred into the senate. From that time the 
new senators, called " fathers of the lesser gentes,^'' formed 
a party zealous in the king's cause, for by his favor they had 
entered the senate. 

(He then waged war against the Sabines and the Latins, 
and gained famous victories over both these nations.) 

The works of peace he set about with greater spirit even 
than he had shown in war. Hence the people enjoyed no 
more ease and quiet at home than they had in their cam- 
paigns abroad ; for he began to surround the city with 
a stone wall. . . . Improving at the same time the lower 
parts of the city round the Forum and among the hills, — 
the valleys did not easily carry off the water because of their 
flatness, — he drained this region by means of sewers drawn 
sloping downward to the Tiber. 

At that time a prodigy happened in the palace — a won- 
derful event both in appearance and in its result. They 
say that the head of a (slave) boy named Servius Tullius, 
who lay fast asleep, blazed with fire in the sight of many 
persons. The great noise made at so wonderful an event 
awakened the royal family, but when one of the servants 
was bringing water to put out the flame, the queen prevented 
him. After the confusion was over, she gave orders that 
the boy was not to be disturbed till he should awake of his 
own accord. As soon as he awoke, the flame disappeared. 
Then Tanaquil (the queen), taking her husband apart, said, 
" Do you see this boy whom we are bringing up in so mean 
a style? Be assured that hereafter he will be a light to us 
in our misfortune and a protector to our palace in distress. 
Henceforth let us with all care train up this youth, who 



Servius Tullius 



51 



is capable of becoming a great ornament to the state and 
to society." 

From this time they treated the boy as their own son, 
and instructed him in those arts which quaUfy men for high 
rank. His education was easy because it was agreeable to 
the gods. The young man proved to be of a truly royal 
disposition, and when they sought a son-in-law, they could 
find no Roman youth equal to him in any accomplishment. 
Therefore the king betrothed his own daughter to Servius. 

About the thirty-eighth year of Tarquin's reign, Servius Tarquin is 
Tullius was in the highest esteem not only with the king k^''®^- 
but also with the senate and people. ... At this time ^'^^ '• '♦°" 
the king, now an aged man, lost his life through the treason Dionysius uu 
of the sons of Ancus Marcius. 



Servius Tullius 

When the death became known to the public and mourn- 
ing began in the palace, Servius, supported by a strong 
guard, took possession of the kingdom with the consent of 
the fathers, the first to become king without an order from 
the people. 

Servius now began to strengthen his power by private 
as well as by public measures. That the feelings of Tar- 
quin's sons might not be the same toward him as had been 
those of the children of Ancus toward the preceding king, 
he gave his two daughters in marriage to the young Tarquin 
princes, Lucius and Aruns. These human plans, however, 
did not break the inflexible power of fate, so as to prevent 
envy of the kingship from exciting treachery and hatred in 
his own household. 

In such a state of affairs it was fortunate for the family 
that war with Veii and with the rest of Etruria broke out. 
In that struggle the valor and the good fortune of Tullius 
became evident, and after routing a great army of the 
enemy, he returned to Rome unquestionably king, whether 
he tried the loyalty of the fathers or of the people. 



King with- 
out election. 

Livy i. 41. 



His 

daughters. 

Livy i. 42, 



52 



The Seven Kin 



gs 



The census. 



The census 
classes. 

Livy i. 43. 
(In the third 
century B.C. 
the as, a cop- 
per coin, was 
worth nearly 
two cents ; in 
earlier times 
its value was 
greater. 
Probably the 
classification 
was at first 
based on 
land.) 



He then set about a peaceful work of the utmost impor- 
tance, that as Numa had been the author of rehgious msti- 
tutions, posterity might celebrate Servius as the founder of 
all distinctions among the members of the state, and of those 
classes which are based on dignity and fortune. For he 
instituted the census, — a most salutary measure for an em- 
pire destined to become so great. According to the census 
the services of war and peace were to be performed not by 
every person without distinction, but in proportion to his 
amount of property. By means of the census he formed 
the classes and the centuries, — an arrangement which still 
exists and which is eminently suited both to peace and to 
war. 

Of those who had an estate worth a hundred thousand 
asses or more he made eighty centuries, forty of seniors and 
forty of juniors. All these centuries constituted the first 
class. The seniors were to guard the city, the juniors to 
carry on war in the field. Their arms were a helmet, a 
round shield, greaves, and a corselet — all of bronze. This 
armor was for defence. Their offensive weapons were a 
spear and a sword. To the first class were added two cen- 
turies of mechanics, who were to serve without arms. 
Their duty was to convey the military engines. 

The second class included all whose estates were worth 
from seventy-five to a hundred thousand asses. From the 
seniors and juniors of this class twenty centuries in all were 
enrolled. They carried a buckler instead of a shield, and 
had no corselet. With these exceptions their arms were 
the same as those of the first class. The property of the 
third class amounted to fifty thousand asses (at the lowest) ; 
the number of the centuries was the same as of the second 
class with the same distinction of age. Their arms, too, 
were the same excepting that they wore no greaves. The 
fourth class, including all whose property was rated at twenty- 
five thousand asses (at the lowest), furnished the same num- 
ber of centuries ; but they had no arms excepting a spear 



The Classes and the Tribes 



53 



and a long javelin. The fifth class included thirty centu- 
ries, who carried slings and stones for throwing. Among 
them were counted three centuries of horn-blowers and 
trumpeters. The property of the class was rated at eleven 
thousand asses (at the lowest). All below this rating formed 
one century exempt from military service. 

After dividing and arming the infantry in this way, he 
levied twelve centuries of knights from among the chief men 
of the state. And of the three centuries instituted by Rom- 
ulus he made six without changing their names. ^ Ten thou- 
sand asses from the public revenue were given the knights 
for buying horses ; and widows were taxed two thousand 
asses yearly for the support of the horses. All these burdens 
were taken off the poor and laid on the rich. 

Then an additional honor was added ; the right to vote 
was not given to all alike, according to the custom established 
by Romulus, and followed by succeeding kings, of granting 
to every man the same right ; but degrees of privilege were 
made, so that no one might seem to be excluded from the 
right of voting, and yet the whole power might reside in the 
chief men of the state. For the knights were first called, 
and then the eighty centuries of the first class ; and if they 
happened to differ, which was rarely the case, those of the 
second were called, and the voting seldom descended to the 
lowest class. 

Next he divided the city into four parts according to the 
regions and hills then inhabited, and he called these divisions 
tribes, as I think from the tribute ; for he introduced also the 
method of levying taxes according to the value of estates. 

The taking of the census he hastened by the terror of a 
law which threatened with imprisonment and death those 
who did not present themselves to be rated. He then pro- 
claimed that all the Roman citizens, horse and foot, should 
attend at the dawn of day in the Campus Martins, each in 

1 The three original centuries were distinguished from the three afterward 
added by the terms "earlier" and " later." 



(Livy is con- 
fused as to 
the numbers; 
cf. Rome pp. 
34. 70.) 



The cavalry. 

(In fact the 
number was 
doubled, and 
long after- 
ward twelve 
were added ; 
Rome, pp. 34, 
70.) 



The 

assembly 
of the cen- 
turies 

{comitia 
centuriata). 



The city 
tribes. 
(At the same 
time he 
probably di- 
vided the 
country, too, 
into tribes.) 
The growing 
population. 

Livy i. 44. 



54 



The Seven Kings 



P. 3. 



Election of 
Servius. 

Livy i. 46. 



Tarquin 
seizes the 
royal power. 

Livy i. 47. 



Servius is 
killed. 

Livy i. 48. 



his century. . . . Eighty thousand citizens are said to have 
been rated in that survey. Fabius Pictor, the earliest of our 
historians, adds that such was the number of those who were 
able to bear arms. This multitude made necessary the en- 
largement of the city. Servius, accordingly, added two hills, 
the Quirinal and the Viminal. . . . The whole city he sur- 
rounded with an earthen rampart, a moat, and a wall. 

By long possession Servius had now acquired a firm hold 
on the kingdom ; but as the young Tarquin kept hinting at 
the fact that Servius held the crown without the consent 
of the people, the ruler first secured their good will by divid- 
ing among them man by man the lands taken from their 
enemies, and then proposed to the people the question 
whether they chose and ordered that he should be king. 
Thereupon he was declared king with greater unanimity 
than had attended the election of any ruler before him. 
But this circumstance did not diminish Tarquin's hope of 
obtaining the throne. 

As soon as the time seemed convenient for accomphshing 
his object, Tarquin rushed into the Forum, accompanied by 
a party of armed men ; then while all were struck with dis- 
may, he seated himself on the throne before the senate- 
house, and ordered the fathers to be summoned by the 
herald to attend King Tarquin. They gathered immediately, 
some already prepared for the occasion, others through fear 
lest their absence might bring them harm. They were as- 
tonished at the strange and sudden event, and considered 
that it was now all over with Servius. 

Then Tarquin, who was far younger than the king, seized 
him, and dragging him from the senate-house, threw him 
down the steps to the ground. Returning into the house, 
he called the senate to order. The king's officers and at- 
tendants fled. Servius himself, almost lifeless, set out for 
home with his terrified followers. As he came to the top of 
Cyprian Street, the agents of Tarquin overtook him in his 
flight and killed him. . . . 



Tarquin the Proud 



55 



TuUius reigned forty-four years so well that even a good 
successor would have found it hard to rival him. But his 
glory is the greater from the fact that with him perished all 
just and constitutional rule. 



Character. 

Livy i. 49. 



Lucius Tarquinius Superbus ("The Proud") 

Now began the reign of the Tarquin whose conduct won 
for him the surname of " The Proud " ; for he refused his 
father-in-law a burial, alleging that even Romulus received 
no funeral. He put to death the principal senators, whom 
he suspected of having sided with Servius. . . . 

As the number of the fathers decreased in this way, he 
determined to elect none into the senate that the members 
might be despised because they were so few, and that they 
might feel less angry because no business came before them. 
For he was the first to violate the custom of consulting the 
senate on all matters — a rule handed down by former kings. 
Advice on public affairs he sought within his own family. 

Though a tyrannical prince in time of peace, Tarquin was 
by no means a poor general ; nay he would have equalled 
the other kings in the art of war, had not his depravity in 
other matters cast a shadow over his military glory. He 
began against the Volscians the war which was to last two 
hundred years ; and he took from them Suessa Pometia by 
storm. As the sale of the spoil brought him forty talents of 
silver, he planned a magnificent temple to Jupiter, which 
should be worthy of the king of the gods and men, of the 
Roman empire, and of the majesty of the place on which it 
was to be built. 

And that the area might be devoted solely to Jupiter and Livy i. 55 
his temple, to the exclusion of other worships, he resolved 
to unhallow several small shrines which had been vowed first 
by King Tatius in the heat of battle against Romulus, and 
which the same king afterward built and dedicated. In the 
beginning of this work the gods are said to have revealed 



His ability 
in war. 

Livy i. S3. 



His temple 
to Jupiter. 



56 



The Seven Kings 



(God of 
boundaries ; 
P- 43-) 

Livy i. 56. 



Dionysius iv. 

61 

(abridged). 



Lucretia. 
Livy i. 57. 



the future greatness of the empire ; for though the birds 
declared in favor of unhallowing all the other temples, they 
did not permit it in the case of the shrine of Terminus. The 
fact that among the gods of this area Terminus alone would 
not change his abode foretold the duration and stability of 
the empire. 

Intent on finishing this temple, Tarquin sent for workmen 
from all parts of Etruria, and employed on it not only public 
money but the labor of the plebeians. And though this 
toil, by no means light, was added to their military service, 
they murmured little at building the temples of the gods 
with their own hands ; but they were afterward transferred 
to other works, which though less showy imposed greater 
toil. As a part of this new labor they erected benches in the 
Circus (Maximus), and made under ground the Cloaca 
Maxima — two public works which the splendor of modern 
times can scarcely rival. 

The Capitoline temple, built on a high rock, was eight 
hundred feet in circuit, about two hundred to each side. 
It had three rows of columns in the south front, with two on 
each side. The building was divided into three temples 
parallel with one another. The middle temple was dedicated 
to Jupiter, the others to Juno and Minerva. All three had 
one pediment and one roof. 

(Some time afterward while the Romans were besieging 
Ardea, a neighboring city,) the young princes occasionally 
spent their leisure in feasting and entertainments. Once 
when they were drinking in the tent of Sextus Tarquinius, 
where CoUatinus Tarquinius, son of Egerius, was also at 
supper, mention was made of their wives. Thereupon 
every one extravagantly praised his own wife ; and when all 
fell to disputing, CoUatinus said, " There is no need of words ; 
we may know in a few hours how far my Lucretia excels all 
the rest. If we have any youthful strength, let us mount our 
horses and look into the conduct of our wives. Let each 
wife's character be tested by the scene which first meets the 



The End of the Kingship ^y 



eye of the husband when he comes home unexpectedly. 
Warmed with wine, they all said, " Come on ! " and gal- 
loped to Rome, where they arrived in the dusk of the even- 
ing. Thence they went to Collatia, where they found 
Lucretia, not like the king's daughters-in-law, whom they 
had seen spending their time with friends in luxurious feasts, 
but busy with her wool, though late at night, sitting among 
her maids, who were at work around her. The award in the 
contest regarding the ladies fell to Lucretia. She kindly 
received her husband and the Tarquins on their arrival ; and 
CoUatinus poUtely entertained the princes. There a villain- 
ous desire to wrong Lucretia seized Sextus Tarquinius. 

When therefore the king's eldest son had wronged the 
honor of Lucretia, wife of CoUatinus, and this chaste and 
noble lady had stabbed herself to death on account of the 
injury she could not survive, Lucius Junius Brutus, a man of 
eminent genius and worth, dashed from his fellow-citizens 
the unjust yoke of servitude. Of royal ancestry, though in 
a private station, he alone upheld the commonwealth ; he 
was the first in Rome to assert that no one should remain a 
private citizen when the preservation of our liberties is con- 
cerned. Under his authority and command our city rose 
against tyranny, and stirred by the recent grief of I-ucretia's 
father and kinsmen, and by the recollection of King Tar- 
quin's cruelty, and of the countless crimes of this tyrant and 
his sons, they pronounced sentence of banishment against 
him and his children, and the whole race of the Tarquins. 

Lucius Tarquinius, the Proud, reigned twenty-five years ; 
the regal form of government extended from the building of 
the city to its deliverance, two hundred and forty-five years. 
Two consuls, Lucius Junius Brutus and Lucius Tarquinius 
CoUatinus, were elected in the comitia centuriafa under the 
prefect of the city, as prescribed by the commentaries of 
Servius Tullius. 



Lucius 
Junius 
Brutus. 

Cicero, 
Republic, ii. 

25- 



End of the 
kingship. 

Livy i. 60. 
(In the 
absence of 
the king, the 
city was 
ruled by a 
" prefect.") 



58 The Seven Kings 



STUDIES 

1. Describe from the maps {Rome, pp. 35, 41 ; Ancient History^ 
pp. 278, 283) the location of Rome, Palatine Mount, Circus (Maximus), 
Aventine Mount, the Sabines, the Forum, Cures, Lavinium, and Ostia. 

2. Why did the Romans wish to connect their origin as closely as 
possible with the Greeks {Home, p. 18)? Tell the story of the siege 
of Troy {Ancient History, p. 59 f.). Who was .^neas {Rome, p- 17; 
Ancient History, p. 265) ? 

3. In the myth of Romulus and Remus, why did the people imagine 
that a wolf and a woodpecker cared for these twins ? At the time 
when Romulus and Remus were supposed to be children, were the 
Latins yet acquainted with the alphabet ? Describe the life of the 
herdsmen. Why was the " hut of Romulus " kept holy ? 

4. Tell the myth of the founding of Rome. Was Rome in fact a 
colony of Alba Longa {Rome, pp. 6, 19; Ancient History, p. 258)? 
Describe augury. What may we learn from the story of the vultures ? 

5. Give an account of the Pythian oracle {Greece, pp. 99-101 ; 
Ancient History, pp. 74-76). How does the story of the "sacred 
refuge " illustrate the liberality of Rome in her treatment of strangers ? 
In your further reading notice all the instances of the same liberality. 
How did this policy of the Romans benefit their state (cf. p. 33) ? 

6. Though all the persons and events mentioned in this chapter are 
mythical, the manners, customs, and institutions are historical. With 
this principle in mind, read carefully the story of the kingship of Romu- 
lus, separate the history from the fiction, and put together your results 
in a short paper on the Government of Roine under the Kings. 

7. Describe the power of the father in early Rome. What were the 
advantages and disadvantages of this strict family discipline ? 

8. Tell the story of the Sabine women. What is the historical 
meaning of this tale {Rome, p. 19)? In the belief of the Romans, 
what became of Romulus ? What does Plutarch think of this belief ? 

9. From the account of the reign of Numa write a brief paper on 
the Religion of Early Rome (cf. 6). Include the religious institutions 
attributed to Romulus. 

10. What was the condition of agriculture and of the industries 
under the kings ? 

11. Compare the fight between the champions of Rome and Alba 
Longa with a similar contest between Lacedtemon and Argos ( Greece, 
p. 78 ; Ancient History, p. 104). What do you think of this method 
of settling difficulties between states ? 

12. Which of the kings admitted foreigners liberally to the citizen- 
ship ? Was this a good policy ? Collect all the instances of the dis- 



Studies 59 

tribution of land by the kings. How did Rome acquire land, and how 
did she dispose of it ? 

13. What historical truth may we find in the myth of Ancus 
Marcius ? 

14. Describe the public works of the Tarquins and Servius Tullius. 

15. Is it remarkable that a slave by birth should become king of 
Rome, as the myth of Servius Tullius represents ? What social condi- 
tion of Rome does this story indicate ? Why does Livy consider 
Servius the last " constitutional " king (cf. p. 55) ? 

16. Describe the five census classes. What was the relation be- 
tween the army of Servius and the comitia centuriata (^Rome, pp. 34, 
69 ; Ancient History, pp. 276, 298) ? Compare the tribes of Servius 
with the three original tribes. 

17. In the myth of Tarquin the Proud, what are given as the causes 
of the overthrow of monarchy ? 

18. W^hat may we gather from Livy as to his idea of an " excellent 
man " (cf. p. 50) ? 



CHAPTER III 

Rome becomes Supreme in Italy 

First Period of the Republic — External History 
(509-264 B.C.) 



First treaty 
between 
Rome and 
Carthage, 

509 B.C. 

Polybius iii. 



(The early 
date of this 
treaty has 
been ques- 
tioned, yet 
without 
sufficient 
grounds. 
Fair Prom- 
ontory is on 
the northern 
coast of 
Africa, near 
Carthage.) 



CARTHAGE, ETRURIA, AND LATIUM 

The first treaty between Rome and Carthage was made in 
the year of Lucius Junius Brutus and Marcus Horatius, the 
first consuls elected after the expulsion of the kings. Of this 
treaty I append a translation as accurate as I could make 
it, for the fact is that the ancient language differs so much 
from that at present in use that the best scholars among the 
Romans themselves have great difficulty in interpreting some 
points in the document. 

" Between the Romans and their allies, and the Cartha- 
ginians and their allies, there shall be peace and alliance 
upon the following terms : — 

" Neither the Romans nor their allies shall sail beyond the 
Fair Promontory, unless driven by bad weather or by an 
enemy. And in case any one of them be driven ashore, he 
shall not buy or take aught for himself save what is needful 
for the repair of his ship and the service of the gods, and he 
shall depart within five days. 

" Merchants landing for traffic in Sardinia or in Libya 
shall strike no bargain except in the presence of a herald or 
a town clerk ; and the credit of the state shall be a security 
to the merchant for whatever he shall sell in the presence of 
this officer. 

60 



Etruria 



6i 



" If any Roman lands in the Carthaginian province in 
Sicily, he shall enjoy all the rights enjoyed by others. 

"The Carthaginians, on the other hand, shall do no injury 
to the people of Antium, Laurentum, Circeii, Tarracina, or 
any other people of the Latins who are subject to Rome. 
Nor shall they possess themselves of any town of the Latins 
which is not subject to Rome. If they take one of these 
towns, they shall deliver it unharmed to the Romans. 

" The Carthaginians shall build no fort in Latium ; and if 
they land an armed force there, they shall depart before 
night." 

By this time the Tarquins had fled to Lars Porsena, king 
of Clusium. There, mingling advice with entreaty, they 
sometimes besought him not to suffer them, who were de- 
scended from the Etruscans and of the same blood and 
name, to live in exile and poverty ; and at other times they 
advised him not to let this new practice of expelling kings 
pass unpunished. " Liberty has charms enough in itself," 
they said, " and unless kings defend their own crowns with 
as much vigor as the people pursue their liberty, the highest 
must be reduced to a level with the lowest. Nothing will 
be exalted above the rest ; and hence there must be an 
end of kingly rule, the most beautiful institution among gods 
and men." 

Porsena, thinking it would be an honor to the Etruscans 
that there should be a king at Rome, and especially one of 
the Etruscan nation, marched to war against Rome. Never 
before did so great a terror seize the senate, so powerful was 
the state of Clusium and so great the renown of Porsena. 

Some parts of the city seemed secured by the walls, others 
by the Tiber. The Sublician bridge, however, well-nigh 
afforded a passage to the enemy, had there not been one 
man, Horatius Codes, who happened to be posted on guard 
at the bridge. When he saw the Janiculum taken by a sud- 
den assault, and the enemy pouring down from thence at full 
speed, and his own party in terror and confusion abandoning 



Tarquins 
and Lars 
Porsena. 

Livy ii. g. 



Horatius at 
the bridge. 
(A wooden 
bridge over 
the Tiber.) 

Livy ii. lo. 



62 Rome becomes Supreme in Italy 

their arms and ranks, he laid hold of them one by one, stood 
in their way, and appealed to the faith of gods and men, say- 
ing, " Your flight will avail you nothing if you desert your 
posts ; for if the enemy pass the bridge and leave it behind 
them, there will soon be more foes on the Palatine and Capi- 
tohne hills than there are now on the Janiculum. I advise 
and charge you, therefore, to demolish the bridge by sword, 
by fire, by any means whatever, while I stand the shock of 
the enemy as far as one man can do." 

He then advanced to the farther entrance of the bridge, 
and separating himself from those who showed their backs 
in retreat, he faced about to engage the foe hand to hand. 
His surprising bravery terrified the enemy. Two other men 
a sense of shame kept with him, — Spurius Lartius and Titus 
Herminius, men of eminent birth and gallant deeds. For a 
short time they three withstood the storm of danger and the 
severest brunt of the battle. But as those who were destroy- 
ing the bridge called on the champions to retire, Horatius 
bade his companions withdraw to a place of safety on a small 
portion of the bridge still left. Then casting his stern, threat- 
ening eyes round all the Etruscan officers, he sometimes 
challenged them singly, sometimes reproached them all as 
slaves of haughty tyrants, who, regardless of their own free- 
dom, had come to overthrow the liberty of others. Hesi- 
tating long, they waited for one another to begin the fight. 
Shame at length moved the army ; and raising a shout, they 
hurled their missiles from all sides upon their single foe. As 
the darts stuck in his shield, he no less firmly held the bridge. 
Finally they tried to push him down from it, when suddenly 
• the crash of the falling bridge, together with the joyous shout 
of the Romans, instantly changed the foemen's ardor into 
panic. Horatius exclaimed, " Holy father Tiber, I pray that 
thou mayest receive these arms and this thy soldier in thy 
propitious stream," and armed as he was, he leaped into the 
Tiber and amid showers of darts hurled on him, swam safe 
across to his party. 



Latium 



63 



Porsena then agreed to withdraw from the Janiculum on 
condition that the Romans should restore the lands they had 
taken from Veii, and give hostages. After concluding peace 
on these terms, he withdrew his troops from the Janiculum, 
and retired from the Roman country. 

(Tarquin next sought aid of the Latins, who tried to re- 
store him, but were disastrously beaten at Lake Regillus. 
Thereupon Tarquin took refuge at Cumae, where he soon 
died, and the Romans concluded with the Latins the following 
treaty :) 

" Let there be peace between the Romans and all the 
Latin cities as long as heaven and earth shall remain in their 
present position. 

" Let them neither make war upon one another themselves, 
nor bring in foreign enemies, nor grant a safe passage to 
those who shall make war upon either. 

" Let them with all their forces assist one another when 
attacked by enemies, and let both have equal shares of the 
spoils and booty taken in their common wars. 

" Let suits relating to private contracts be determined in 
ten days among that people among whom the contract was 
made. 

" Let nothing be added to, or taken from, these treaties 
except by the joint consent of the Romans and all the 
Latins." 

To ratify this treaty one of the consuls remained at Rome. 
The other, sent to the Volscian war, routed and put to flight 
the Volscians of Antium, and continuing his pursuit of them 
now that they were driven into Longula, he took the town. 
Next he captured Polusca, also Volscian ; then he attacked 
CorioU with all his force. 



Livy ii. 13. 



Treaty 
between 
Rome and 
the Latins, 

493 B-C. 



Dionysius vi. 

5- 



Livy ii. 33. 



CORIOLANUS 

Among the young noblemen in the camp at that time was Gains 
Gaius Marcius, a youth distinguished for intelligence and ^o^olanus. 
courage, who afterward was given the surname Coriolanus. 



64 Rome becomes Supreme in Italy 

When the Romans were besieging Corioh, and were wholly 
intent upon watching the besieged inhabitants with no fear 
of attack from without, a Volscian legion from Antium sud- 
denly assailed them and at the same time the enemy sallied 
forth from the town. Marcius happened to be on guard. 
With a chosen band he not only repelled the attack of the 
inhabitants, but boldly rushed in through the open gate and 
cut down all in that part of the city. Then hastily seizing 
some fire, he threw it into the houses adjoining the wall. 
Thereupon the shouts of the townsmen, mingling with the 
wailings of the terrified women and children, increased the 
courage of the Romans and dispirited the Volscians, who saw 
the enemy in possession of the city they had come to save. 
In this way the Volscians of Antium were defeated, the town 
of Corioli was taken, and Marcius by his valor echpsed the 
reputation of the consul in command. 

(Some time afterward Marcius, who was a patrician, was 
prosecuted by the leaders of the commons on the ground 
that he was attempting to deprive the people of their rights. 
He fled from Rome, and in his absence) was condemned 
by a majority of the tribes, and sentenced to perpetual 
banishment. 

Deciding at length to excite a cruel war against Rome, he 
proceeded at once to apply to the Volscians. . . . There was 
a certain citizen of Antium named Tullus Aufidius, who from 
his wealth, courage, and noble birth, was regarded as the 
most important man in the whole Volscian nation. 

Marcius and Tullus held private conferences with the chief 
men of the Volscians, and advised them to begin the war 
while Rome was divided by its domestic quarrels. ... By 
zealous exertions the entire Volscian nation was soon assem- 
bled under arms. 

The affairs of Rome were in extreme disorder ; for the 
people refused to fight ; political quarrels took place and 
seditious speeches were made every day, till news came that 
the enemy were besieging Lavinium. This town contains 



A Mother's Influence 



65 



the most ancient images and sacred property of the guar- 
dian gods of Rome, and is the mother-city of the Roman 
people, the first settlement founded by ^neas. 

While the consuls at Rome were reviewing the legions, 
and posting guards along the walls and in other places where 
sentinels and guards were needed, a great crowd terrified 
them with seditious clamors for peace, and finally compelled 
them to call the senate to consider the question of sending 
deputies to Gains Marcius. When it became evident that 
the spirit of the plebeians was failing, the senate took up the 
question and sent messengers to Gains Marcius to treat for 
peace. They brought back this harsh reply : " If you restore 
the lands you have taken from the Volscians, you may then 
consider the question of peace ; but if you are disposed to 
sit at ease enjoying the plunder of war, I who remember my 
unjust treatment at the hands of fellow-citizens, as well as the 
kindness of strangers, will do my best to prove that my spirit 
has been irritated but not crushed by exile." When the 
same persons were sent a second time, they were not ad- 
mitted to the camp. It is recorded, too, that the priests in 
their sacred garb went as suppliants to the enemy's camp ; 
and that they did not influence his mind more than did the 
deputies of the senate. 

Then the matrons gathered in a body round Veturia, the 
mother of Gains Marcius, and his wife Volumnia — whether 
by public counsel or from the women's fear I cannot say. 
They carried their point that Veturia, an aged woman, and 
Volumnia with her little children, the sons of Marcius, should 
go to the camp of the enemy, and that the women should 
defend by their prayers and tears the city which the men 
could not protect with arms. When they reached the camp 
and were announced to Gains Marcius ... he sprang bewil- 
dered from his seat and offered to embrace his mother. But 
turning from entreaties to angry rebuke, she said, " Before 
I receive your embrace, let me know whether I have come to 
an enemy or to a son — whether I am in your camp a captive 

F 



The Romans 
try to 
appease him. 

Livy ii. 39. 



His mother 
and his 
wife. 

Livy ii. 40. 



66 Rome becomes Supreme in Italy 

or a mother. Has length of life and a wretched old age re- 
served me for this — to see you an exile and an enemy ? Could 
you lay waste this land which gave you birth and nurtured you ? 
Though you came enraged and vengeful, did not your anger 
cool when you entered its frontiers? When you came in 
sight of Rome, did it not occur to you that within those walls 
were your house and guardian gods, your mother, wife, and 
children? It is true then that had I not been a mother, 
Rome would not be besieged ; had I no son, I might die free 
in a free country. But my suffering is your disgrace ; and 
however wretched I may be, I shall not live long. Look to 
these others, on whom your stubbornness will bring untimely 
death or lasting slavery." 

Then his wife and children embraced him ; and the 
wailing of the women, as they bemoaned themselves and 
their country, at length overcame him. Embracing his 
family, he sent them away and removed his camp farther 
from the city. After withdrawing his troops from the 
Roman country, he lost his life, some say, through hatred 
roused by these events. Writers differ as to the manner of 
his death; but Fabius (Pictor), by far the most ancient 
historian, says that he lived to old age, and quotes from 
him this phrase, " Exile weighs more heavily on an aged 
man." 

Veii 

The siege of (I" the lifetime of Gains Marcius the Volscians and the 
V^ij' ^quians wrested nearly all Latium from Rome ; but some 

B.C. years afterward the Romans began to make headway against 

these enemies. Before the end of the fifth century b.c. 

they had recovered Latium. They then began a war for 

the conquest of Veii, a powerful city of Etruria, not far 

from Rome.) 
Plutarch, Defeated in several great battles, the people of Veii had 

Camiiius, 2. given up all plans of conquest, had built strong high walls, 

had filled their city with arms, provisions, and all kinds of 



A Mystery 



67 



material of war, and were fearlessly enduring a siege, which 
was certainly long, but which became no less irksome and 
difficult to the besiegers. 

While the war was at its height, much alarm was caused 
by the strange thing seen at the Alban lake, which could 
not be accounted for by the laws of nature. The season 
was autumn, and the summer had not been remarkable for 
rain or for moist winds, so that many of the streams and 
marshes in Italy were quite dried up, and others barely held 
out, while the rivers, as is usual in summer, were very low 
and deeply sunk in their beds. But the Alban lake, which 
is self-contained, surrounded as it is by fertile hills, began 
for no reason except perhaps the will of heaven, to increase 
in volume and to encroach upon the hillsides near it, till it 
reached their very tops, rising quietly and without disturb- 
ance. 

At first the portent amazed only the shepherds of the 
neighborhood ; but when the lake by weight of its waters 
broke through the thin neck of land which held it in, and 
poured down in a mighty stream through the fertile plains 
to the sea, then not only the Romans but all the people of 
Italy thought it a portent of the gravest character. Every 
one talked about it ; and in the camp before Veil it was so 
much discussed that the besieged also learned what was 
happening at the lake. 

There was an ancient oracle about the city of Veii, that 
it could not be taken until its enemies drove back the 
waters of the Alban lake, and prevented its joining the 
sea. When the senators heard this report, they were at a 
loss what to do, and determined to send an embassy to 
Delphi to inquire of the god. . . . 

After a prosperous journey the ambassadors returned with 
a reply from Apollo, which pointed to the neglect of certain 
ceremonies in the festival of the Latin games, and bade the 
Romans, if possible, force the waters of the Alban lake 
away from the sea into their ancient course, or if this could 



The 

mystery of 
the Alban 
lake. 

Plutarch, 
Camillus, 3. 



Ib.^. 



Greece, p. 99 ; 
Ancient 
History, p. 74. 



(Celebrated 
by the Latins 
at Alba 
Longa ; 
p. 20.) 



68 Rome becomes Supreme in Italy 



The capture 
of Veii, 

396 B.C. 

Plutarch, 
Camilltis, 5. 



(The Ro- 
mans had 
feared Veii 
because it 
was great 
and power- 
ful ; cf. p. 66,) 



not be done, to divide the stream by canals so as to expend 
it in the plain. When this answer came, the priests took 
the necessary steps about the sacrifices, while the people 
turned their attention to the diversion of the water. 

In the tenth year of the war the senate recalled all the 
rest of the generals and made Camillus dictator . . , who 
turned his attention to the siege of Veii ; and perceiving 
that it would be a difficult matter to take the city by as- 
sault, he ordered mines to be dug ; for the ground near the 
walls was easily worked, and the mines could be sunk to a 
sufficient depth for concealment from the besieged. As 
this work succeeded to his wish, he pretended an attack 
above ground to call the enemy to the wall and to distract 
their attention, while others made their way unperceived 
through the mine to the temple of Juno in the citadel, the 
largest and most sacred building in the city. Here the king 
of Veii chanced to be sacrificing. On inspecting the 
omens, the soothsayer cried out with a loud voice that the 
goddess would give the victory to whoever offered this 
victim. When the Romans in the mine heard these 
words, they quickly tore up the floor, and burst through 
it with shouts and rattling arms. The enemy fled in terror, 
while the invaders seized the victims and carried them to 
Camillus. This story, however, sounds rather fabulous. 

The city was stormed and the Romans carried ofl" an 
enormous amount of plunder. Camillus, who viewed his 
men from the citadel, at first stood weeping, but when con- 
gratulated by those who were with him, he raised his hands to 
heaven and said, " Great Jupiter, and all ye other gods who 
see all good and evil deeds alike, ye know it is not in un- 
righteous conquest, but in self-defence, that the Romans 
have taken this city from their lawless enemies. If there 
awaits us any reverse of fortune to counterbalance this 
good luck, I pray that it may fall, not upon the city or 
the army of Rome, but as lightly as may be upon my own 
head." 



Allia 



69 



When the leaders of the plebs introduced a resolution to 
distribute the territory of Veii among the citizens and to 
remove half the city to Veii, Camillus openly and without 
caring for popularity opposed the measure. 

The people were much excited against him, and it was 
clear that whatever the charge against him might be, they lb. 12, 
would condemn him. . . . But when his friends after con- 
sulting together informed him that they would not prevent 
his condemnation but would help pay his fine, he could not 
bear such treatment, and determined in a rage to leave Rome 
and go into exile. 

He embraced his wife and son, and walked from his house 
silently as far as the gate of the city. There he turned back, 
and stretching out his hands toward the Capitol, he prayed 
to the gods that if he was driven from Rome unjustly by the 
insolence and hatred of the people, the Romans might soon 
repent of their conduct to him, and appear before the world 
begging him to return and longing for their Camillus back 
a^ain. 



The Gauls 

Every Roman believes that the prayers of Camillus were 
quickly heard by Jupiter, and that a terrible retribution was 
exacted for his wrongs. (For it was while he was in exile 
that the Gauls came.) 

The Romans marched about eleven miles from the city, 
and halted for the night on the banks of the Allia, a stream 
which joins the Tiber not far from where their camp was 
pitched. Here in an unskilful battle the want of discipline 
caused the ruin of the Romans. The Gauls drove the left 
wing into the river and destroyed it, but the right, which 
took refuge in the hills to avoid the enemy's charge on level 
ground, suffered less, and most of this division safely reached 
the city. Of the rest, those who survived after the enemy 
were weary with slaughter took refuge at Veii, imagining that 
all was over with Rome. 



Camillus 
goes into 
exile. 

Plutarch, 
Camillus, ii. 



The battle 
of the Allia, 

390 B.C. 

Plutarch, 
Camillus, 13. 



Jb. 18. 



70 Rome becomes Supreme in Italy 



The Gauls 
sack Rome. 

Plularch, 
Camillus, 22. 



The siege of 
the Capitol. 

Plutarch, 
Camillus, orj. 



On the third day after the battle Brennus (the GalHc 
chief) came at the head of his army to attack the city. 
Seeing the gates open and no guards on the walls, he at first 
feared some ambuscade, as he could not believe that the 
Romans had so utterly despaired of themselves. When he 
discovered the truth, he marched through the CoUine Gate, 
and captured Rome a little more than three hundred and 
sixty years after its foundation, if we can believe that any ac- 
curate record has been kept of those earlier periods. 

(First the barbarians plundered and burned the city, while 
the Romans held only the Capitohne Mount.) Encouraged 
by their chief, the Gauls eagerly volunteered an assault on 
the Capitol. About midnight many of them climbed silently 
up the rock, which although rough and precipitous was 
easier of ascent than they had imagined ; so that the first of 
them reached the top, and were on the point of attacking 
the rampart and its sleeping garrison, for neither men nor 
dogs noticed them. 

But there were sacred geese kept in the temple of Juno, 
which in other times were fed without stint, but which then, 
as there was scarcely food enough for the men, were some- 
what neglected. These birds are naturally quick of hearing 
and timid ; and now rendered wakeful and wild by hunger, 
they quickly perceived the Gauls climbing up, and rushing 
noisily to the place, awoke the garrison. 

The Gauls, feeling that they were discovered, no longer 
preserved silence, but violently assaulted the place. The 
Romans snatched whatever arms came first to hand and ran 
to repel them. First of all Manlius, a man of consular rank, 
strong of body and full of courage, fell in with two of the 
enemy. As one of them lifted up his battle-axe, Manlius 
cut off the right hand with his sword, while he dashed his 
shield into another's face and threw him backward down the 
cUff. Then he stood upon the wall, and with the help of 
those who gathered round him, beat off the rest, for not 
many had reached the top or effected anything equal to the 



Camillus 



71 



boldness of the attempt. After thus escaping the danger, 
the Romans threw their sentinel down the rock, whereas on 
Manlius they conferred by vote a reward for his bravery. 

(Afterward the Romans on the Capitoline Momit came 
to terms with the enemy.) Brennus, the Gallic chief, and 
Sulpicius, a Roman leader of the commons, met, and it was 
agreed that the Romans should pay a thousand pounds of 
gold, and that on receiving it, the Gauls should at once 
leave the country. Both parties swore to observe these 
conditions ; but while the gold was being weighed, the 
Gauls at first stealthily tampered with the scales and then 
openly pulled the beam, so that the Romans became angry. 
Thereupon Brennus insolently took off his sword and belt 
and threw them into the scale ; and when Sulpicius asked, 
" What is this? " he replied, " Woe to the vanquished ! " 

While the Romans were thus disputing with the Gauls 
and with one another, Camillus with his army was at the 
gates. Learning what was going on within, he ordered the 
mass of his soldiers to follow him quietly and in good order, 
while he pushed on with the picked troops to join the 
Romans, who all made way for him and received him as their 
dictator with silence and respect. He then took the gold 
from the scales and gave it to his lictors, and ordered the 
Gauls to take the scales and the beam and depart ; " for it 
is the custom of the Romans," he said, " to defend their 
country not with gold but with iron." 

In this way Rome was strangely taken and yet more 
strangely rescued, after the Gauls had held it more than 
ten months. . . . Camillus, as we may easily imagine, 
entered the city in triumph as the saviour of his lost country 
and the restorer of Rome ; for as he drove into the city he 
was accompanied by those who had before left it, and by 
their wives and children, while those who had been besieged 
in the Capitol, and all but starved there, came out to meet 
him, embracing one another, weeping, and scarcely believing 
in their present happiness. 



'• Woe to 
the van- 
quished! " 

Plutarch, 
Camillus, 28. 



Camillus 
comes to the 
rescue. 

Plutarch, 
Camillus, 29. 



P. 85. 

Rome, '^. '2rj\ 
Ancient 
History, 
P- 273- 



Plutarch, 
Camillus, 30. 



72 Rome becomes Supreme in Italy 



A half- 
century of 
success, 
390-340 B.C. 



(First Sam- 
nite War, 
343-341 B.C. 
For the previ- 
ous alliance, 
see Nome, 
p. 49.) 

The Great 
Latin War, 

340-338 B.C. 

Livy viii. 6. 



The story of 
Titus Man- 
lius. 

Livy, viii. 7. 



The Samnite and Latin Wars 

(The half century after the departure of the Gauls and the 
rebuilding of the city was a time of great military success 
for Rome. On every side she was victorious over her ene- 
mies, and either won new territory or secured more thorough 
control of the lands she had already acquired. In this 
period she- came into contact with Samnium, the most 
powerful nation in the interior of the peninsula. For a 
time the two states were allies, but afterward engaged in 
war against each other. The Romans were successful in 
this war, but in the year after it closed, war broke out be- 
tween them and the Latins, their former allies.) 

What excited the attention of the Romans was that they 
had to contend against Latins, who were like themselves 
in language, in manners, in arms, and more especially in 
military institutions. Soldiers had been mixed with soldiers, 
centurions with centurions, tribunes with tribunes, as com- 
rades and colleagues, in the same armies and often in the 
same companies. Lest this might involve the soldiers in 
mistakes, the consuls commanded that no one without 
orders should fight an enemy. 

It happened that among the prefects of the troops who 
had been sent out in all directions to reconnoitre, Titus 
Manlius, the consul's son, came with his troop to the rear 
of the enemy's camp, so near that he was scarcely distant 
a dart's throw from the next post. In that place were some 
Tusculan cavalry under Geminus Maecius, a man distin- 
guished among his fellow-citizens by birth and deeds. 
When he recognized the Roman cavalry and prominent 
among them the consul's son marching at their head, — for 
they were all known to each other, especially the leaders, — 
he exclaimed, " Romans, are you planning with a single 
troop to wage war upon the Latins and their allies? What 
meantime will the consuls and their two armies be doing? " 

" They will be here in good time," Manlius replied, " and 



An Imprudent Youth 



73 



with them will be Jupiter himself as a witness of the treaties 
you have violated ; he is stronger and more powerful than 
they. If we fought at Lake Regillus until you had quite 
enough, here too we shall make the battle bring you no 
great joy." In reply Geminus, advancing some distance 
from his own party, said, " Before that day when you are to 
put your armies in motion with such mighty labor, do you 
choose to enter the lists with me that, from the result of 
a contest between us two, it may be seen how much a Latin 
excels a Roman knight? " 

Either resentment or shame at declining the contest, or He accepts a 
the invincible power of fate, roused the spirit of the youth, cnaiienge. 
Forgetful therefore of his father's command and of the con- 
sul's edict, he rushed headlong to that contest in which it 
mattered little whether he met victory or defeat. As the 
other knights withdrew some distance to watch the fight, 
the champions in the clear space between the troops spurred 
on their horses against each other. When they met in 
fierce conflict, the spear of Manlius passed over the helmet 
of his foe, that of Maecius across the neck of the other's 
horse. Then as they wheeled their horses round, Manlius 
rose to repeat the blow. He fixed his javelin between the 
ears of his foeman's steed. In pain the animal raised his 
fore paws high, violently tossed his head, and shook his 
rider off. While Geminus was leaning on his spear and 
buckler to raise himself from his heavy fall, Manlius pierced 
his throat so that the steel passed out through the ribs and 
pinned him to the ground. 

Collecting the spoils, the victor returned to his own party, 
and with his exulting troop he proceeded to the camp and 
then to the general's tent — to his father. The young man 
was ignorant of what awaited him, whether praise or punish- 
ment. " Father," he cried, " that all may truly say I am 
sprung from your blood, — when challenged I slew my foe, 
and have taken from him these knightly spoils." When the 
consul heard these words, he instantly turned from his son, 



He brings 
the spoil to 
his father. 



74 Rome becomes Supreme in Italy 



' ' Manlian 
orders ' ' ful- 
filled. 



How the 
Samnites 
levied their 
troops. 



and ordered the soldiers assembled by sound of trumpet. 
When they had come together in great numbers, he said, 
" You, Titus Manlius, revering neither the consular power 
nor a father's majesty, have fought against the enemy con- 
trary to our orders, and as far as in you lay, have subverted 
military discipline, through which the Roman power has 
stood to this day. As you have compelled me to forget 
either the repubhc or myself and mine, we shall expiate our 
own sins rather than permit the republic to suffer so serious 
a loss by our misdeeds. We shall be a sad example but a 
profitable one to the youth of future ages. As for me, the 
natural affection for my children, as well as that bravery 
which has led you astray by the false notion of honor, draws 
me to you. But since either the authority of consuls is to be 
established by your death, or by your forgiveness to be forever 
annulled, I think not even you, if you have our blood in your 
veins, will refuse by your punishment to restore the military 
discipKne your conduct has overthrown. Go, lictor, bind 
him to the stake." 

All stood motionless more through fear than discipline, 
astonished by so cruel an order, each looking on the axe as 
if drawn against himself. Therefore they stood in profound 
silence ; but when the blood spurted from his severed neck, 
their minds suddenly recovered from stupefaction, and their 
voices rose together in free expressions of complaint. They 
spared neither lamentation nor curses. The body of the 
youth, covered with the spoils, was burned on a pile outside 
the rampart with all the military zeal which could attend a 
funeral ; and " Manlian orders " were not only viewed with 
horror for the present but remembered as most austere by 
future ages. 

(The war did not continue long before the Latins sub- 
mitted. Afterward Rome waged two more wars with Sam- 
nium. The people of this country had some peculiar customs. 
The following passage shows how they levied their troops and 
how they equipped themselves and fought.) 



The Linen Legion 



7S 



When orders were issued for all to assemble at Aquilonia, (Second war 
the whole strength of Samnium came together, amounting samnium 
to forty thousand men. There in the middle of the camp 326-304 e.g.; 
a piece of ground two hundred feet square was enclosed with 298-29crB.c.) 
hurdles and boards, and covered overhead with linen cloth. Ljvy x. 38. 
In this place sacrifices were performed according to direc- " 

tions read from an old linen book. The priest was a very old 
man named Ovius Paccius, who affirmed that he took these 
ceremonies from the ancient ritual of the Samnites, the same 
which their ancestors used when they had formed the secret Rome, p. 49. 
design of wresting Capua from the Etruscans. 

When the sacrifices were finished, the general ordered a 
beadle to summon all who were most highly distinguished 
by their birth or conduct. They were brought in singly. 
Besides other ceremonies calculated to impress the mind 
with religious dread, altars were erected in the middle of the 
covered enclosure, and about them were placed the victims 
slain. Centurions stood round with their swords drawn. 
The soldier was led up to the altars, rather like a victim than 
a partaker of the ceremony, and was bound by an oath not 
to divulge what he should see and hear in that place. He 
was then compelled to swear in a dreadful form, invoking 
curses on his own person, his family, and his race, if he did 
not go to battle withersoever the commanders should lead, 
and if he fled from the field or failed to kill any whom he 
saw fleeing. 

At first some refused to take the oath and were therefore 
put to death round the altars. Lying among the slain ani- 
mals, they served afterward as a warning to others not to 
refuse. When those of the first rank in the Samnite nation 
had been bound under these solemn oaths, the general nomi- 
nated ten, whom he ordered to choose each a man, and so 
to proceed until they should fill up the number of sixteen 
thousand. From the covering of the enclosure in which 
the nobles were thus devoted, this body of troops was called 
the Linen Legion. 



76 Rome becomes Supreme in Italy- 



How the 

Samnites 
were 
equipped, 
and how 
they fought. 



Livy ix. 40. 



They were furnished with splendid armor and plumed 
helmets to distinguish them from the rest. Another force, 
amounting to somewhat more than twenty thousand, was 
not inferior to the Linen Legion in personal appearance, 
in warlike renown, or in equipment. This number, com- 
posing the main strength of the nation, was levied at 
Aquilonia. 

The war with the Samnites was full of danger but the 
issue was glorious. Along with their careful preparation 
for the field, they made their troops glitter with decora- 
tions on their armor. The army was in two divisions, one 
of which had their shields embossed with gold, the other 
with silver. The shield they wore was broad and flat above, 
to cover the breast and shoulders ; below it tapered to a 
point so that it could be easily wielded. A loose corselet 
protected the breast and a greave covered the left leg. 
Their helmets were adorned with plumes to make the 
soldiers seem taller. The golden-armed troops wore gayly 
colored tunics, the silver-armed were dressed in white linen. 
On the right stood the silver corps, the golden on the left. 

When the Romans heard of these splendid equipments, 
their commander said to them, " A soldier should be rough ; 
he should put his trust not in silver and golden decorations 
but in his sword. The enemy's finery is spoil not armor. 
Glittering before the battle, it will soon be disfigured by 
blood and blows. The soldier's brightest ornament is 
bravery. These trinkets will follow victory, these rich 
enemies will be valuable prizes to us who conquer, poor 
though we may be." 

After animating the men with these remarks, (Lucius 
Papirius) Cursor led them on to battle. He occupied the 
right wing, his master of horse the left. As soon as the 
fight began, the struggle between the opposing armies be- 
came desperate. No less earnest was the rivalry between 
the dictator and his master of horse as to which wing should 
first gain the victory. It happened that Junius (the master 



splendid Spoils 



11 



of horse) first made the enemy's right give way. This 
division of the Samnites consisted of men who had been 
devoted according to their custom, and who were therefore 
arrayed in a white uniform and in armor of equal whiteness. 
Crying out that he would sacrifice them to Pluto, Junius 
pressed forward and caused their line to waver. As the 
dictator saw this movement he exclaimed, " Shall victory 
begin on the left wing, and shall the right, the dictator's 
own troops, only second the arms of others and not claim 
the greater share of the victory?" This spurred the 
soldiers on. Neither did the cavalry yield to the infantry 
in daring nor the lieutenants to the commanders. Marcius 
Valerius on the right wing and Publius Decius on the left, 
both men of consular rank, rode off to the cavalry at the 
ends of the line ; and encouraging them to share the honor, 
charged the enemy in the flanks. When this new alarm 
assailed the enemy on both sides, and the Roman legions 
rushed forward with shouts to confuse the foe, the Samnites 
took to flight. And now the plain was soon filled with 
heaps of bodies and splendid armor. At first the dismayed 
Samnites took shelter in their camp ; but they did not 
hold it long. Before night it was captured, plundered, and 
burned. By a decree of the senate the dictator triumphed ; Rome, p. 41; 
and in his procession far the most splendid sight was the ^""o"y 
captured armor ; so magnificent was it deemed that the p. 282. 
shields, ornamented with gold, were distributed among 
the owners of the silver shops to adorn the Forum. 

Pyrrhus 



(After the conquest of Samnium Rome designed to win war 

control of all southern Italy. She openly broke her treaty ^^^^^^^^"^ 

with the people of Tarentum, who called on Pyrrhus, king Pyrrhus, 

of Epirus, for help.) ^^'"^72 b.c. 

He was indeed a soldier worthy to command soldiers, 
the only king of the age in whom could be traced any 



78 Rome becomes Supreme in Italy 



Plutarch, 
Pyrrhus, 



Greece, p. 
3i«. 



(A general 
then living, 
wiio had 
been an offi- 
cer under 
Alexander 
the Great.) 



(Little else is 
known of 
Aeropus.) 



likeness to the great Alexander. By the fire and the 
energy of his movements in the field of battle, Pyrrhus 
revived the image of that hero ; other kings mimicked him 
only in their behavior and in the trappings and state of 
royalty. We can form an opinion of his knowledge and 
skill in military affairs from the writings which he has left 
on these subjects. It is said, too, that Antigonus when 
asked who was the greatest general answered, " Pyrrhus, if 
he lives to be old," for he was speaking of the generals 
of his time only. Hannibal, however, considered Pyrrhus 
to have been the best general that ever lived for skill and 
resource, placing Scipio next and himself third, as is written 
in the life of Scipio. 

In fact Pyrrhus devoted the whole of his intellect to the 
art of war ; for he regarded it as the only study fit for a 
king, and held all other occupations frivolous. At a wine 
party he was once asked whether he thought Python or 
Caphisias the better flute-player, to which he answered that 
Polysperchon was the best general, as though that were the 
only subject on which a king should form or express an 
opinion. 

Yet he was mild-tempered and gentle toward his friends, 
full of gratitude for kindness and eager to repay it. He 
grieved greatly over the death of Aeropus, not so much be- 
cause he was dead, for that, he said, was the common lot of 
mankind, but because he had himself delayed repaying Aero- 
pus a kindness until it was too late. " Debts of money," he 
said, " can be paid to the heirs of a creditor, but men of 
honor are grieved at not being able to return a kindness dur- 
ing the lifetime of their benefactor." In Ambracia Pyrrhus 
was once advised to banish a man who abused him in scur- 
rilous terms. He answered, " I would rather he remained 
where he is, and abuse me there than that he should wander 
through all the world doing so." 

Pyrrhus might have spent his days peacefully ruling his 
own subjects in Epirus ; but he could not endure repose. 



Tarentum 



79 



for he thought a life free from troubhng others and from 
being troubled was unendurable ; and like Achilles in the 
Iliad, 

He could riot rest in indolence at home, 
He longed for battle and the joys of war. 

As he desired some new adventures, he embraced the 
following opportunity. Rome was at war with the Taren- 
tines ; and as they were not strong enough to carry on the 
contest, and yet were not allowed by the audacious folly of 
their mob orators to make peace, they proposed to choose 
Pyrrhus leader and to invite him to be their ally in the war, 
for he was then more at leisure than any of the other kings 
and also was the best general of all. . . . 

Thus they voted for war and sent ambassadors to Epirus, 
not from Tarentum alone but from the other Greek cities in 
Italy. These delegates carried presents to Pyrrhus and were 
instructed to tell him that they required a leader of skill and 
renown, and that they possessed a force of Lucanians, Mes- 
sapians, Samnites, and Tarentines which amounted to twenty 
thousand cavalry and three hundred and fifty thousand infan- 
try. This information not only excited Pyrrhus, but made 
all the Epirots eager to take part in the campaign. 

When Pyrrhus arrived at Tarentum, he did nothing to dis- 
please the people till his fleet reached the coast and he had 
gathered the greater part of his army. Then as he saw that 
the populace, unless ruled by a strong hand, could help 
neither him nor themselves, but intended to stay idling about 
their baths and entertainments at home while he fought their 
battles, he closed the gymnasia and the public walks, in 
which the people were wont to waste their time in empty 
talk about the war. He forbade all drinking, feasting, and 
unreasonable revels, and forced the people to take arms. 
In carrying out this order he showed himself inexorable to 
every one who was on the muster-roll of able-bodied citizens. 
This conduct made him greatly disliked, and many of the 
Tarentines left the city in disgust ; for they were so unused to 



Tarentum 
invites his 
aid. 

Plutarch, 
Pyrrhus, 13. 



281-272 B.C. 



He disci- 
plines the 
Tarentines. 

Plutarch, 
Pyrrhus, 16. 



8o Rome becomes Supreme in Italy 

discipline that inability to pass their lives as they chose they 
considered to be no better than slavery. 
The battle of (When Pyrrhus heard that the Roman army had come 
^o^^]^^' into Lucania to oppose him, he marched forth to meet it at 
Heraclea.) Learning that the Romans were near, and were 
encamping on the farther side of the river Siris, he rode down 
to the river to view them. When he saw their even ranks, 
their orderly movements, and their well-arranged camp, he 
was surprised, and said to the nearest of his friends, " These 
barbarians, Megacles, have nothing barbarian in their military 
discipline, but we shall soon learn what they can do." 

He began already to feel some uncertainty as to the issue 
of the campaign, and determined to wait till his allies came 
up, and until then to watch the movements of the Romans 
and prevent their crossing the river. As they perceived his 
object, however, they quickly crossed the river, the infantry 
at a ford, the cavalry at many points at once, so that the 
Greeks, fearing that they might be surrounded, drew 
back. 

Perceiving the movement, Pyrrhus ordered his officers in- 
stantly to form the troops in order of battle and wait under 
arms while he himself charged with the cavalry, three thou- 
sand strong, for he hoped to catch the Romans in the act of 
crossing the river and consequently in disorder. When he 
saw many shields of the Roman infantry appearing over 
the river bank and their horsemen all ranged in order, he 
closed up his own ranks and charged them. He himself 
took the lead, a conspicuous figure in his beautiful glittering 
armor, and he proved by his exploits that he deserved his 
high reputation ; for though he fought personally and en- 
gaged in combat with the enemy, he continually watched the 
whole battle, and handled his troops with as much facility as 
though he were not in the thick of the fight, appearing always 
where his presence was most needed and reenforcing those 
who seemed likely to give way. (Pyrrhus won a hard-fought 
battle.) 



Cineas 



8 



There was a certain Cineas, a Thessalian, who was con- 
sidered a man of good judgment, and who having heard 
Demosthenes the orator speak, was better able than any of 
the speakers of his age to dehght his hearers with an imita- 
tion of the eloquence of that great master of rhetoric. He 
was now in the service of Pyrrhus, and being sent about to 
various cities, proved true the proverb of Euripides that — 

All can be clone by words 
Which foemen wish to do with conquering swords. 

Pyrrhus used to say that more cities were won for him 
by Cineas with words than he himself won by force of arms. 
. . . (Wishing to make peace with Rome,) Pyrrhus sent 
Cineas as ambassador to conduct the negotiations. He con- 
versed with the leading men of Rome and offered their wives 
and children presents from the king. No one, however, 
would accept the gifts, but all, men and women alike, repHed 
that if peace were publicly made with the king, they would 
then have no objection to regarding him as a friend. And 
when Cineas spoke before the senate in a winning and per- 
suasive manner, he could make no impression upon his 
audience. . . . The common people, however, were evi- 
dently eager for peace, because they had been defeated in 
one great battle, and expected that they would have to fight 
another, — against a larger force, because the Italian states 
would join Pyrrhus. 

At this crisis Appius Claudius (Caecus), an illustrious 
man, who had long been prevented by old age and blind- 
ness from taking an active part in politics, hearing of the 
proposals of Pyrrhus and learning that the question of peace 
or war was about to be voted upon in the senate, could no 
longer endure to stay at home, but caused his sons to carry 
him in a litter through the Forum to the senate-house. 
When he reached the doors of the senate-house, his sons 
and his sons-in-law supported him and guided him as he 
entered, while all the assembly observed a respectful silence. 



The 

embassy of 
Cineas. 

Plutarch, 
Pyrrktis, 14. 

Greece, 
p. 220; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 187. 



Plutarch, 
Pyrrhus, 18. 



Appius 

Claudius 

Caecus. 

Plutarch, 
Pyrrhus, i8f. 



82 Rome becomes Supreme in Italy 



(Compare 
the " Mon- 
roe doc- 
Irine.") 



Pyrrhus and 
Fabricius. 

Plutarch, 
Pyrrhus, 20. 



(He then spoke against the proposal to treat with Pyrrhus 
while this Epirot king remained in the peninsula. Italy for 
the Italians was the new principle which he set forth. In 
conclusion he said,) " Do not imagine that you will rid your- 
selves of this man by making a treaty with him. Rather you 
will encourage other Greek princes to invade you, for they 
will despise you and think you an easy prey to all men, if you 
let Pyrrhus go home again without paying the penalty for his 
outrages upon you, nay with the power to boast that he has 
made Rome a laughing-stock for Tarentines and Samnites ! " 

By his words Appius roused a warlike spirit in the Romans, 
and they dismissed Cineas with the answer that if Pyrrhus 
would leave Italy, they would if he wished discuss the question 
of alliance with him, but that while he remained in arms in 
their country, the Romans would fight him to the death. . . . 

During his mission at Rome Cineas is said to have taken a 
keen interest in examining the national life and institutions 
of the Romans, and to have fully appreciated the excellence 
of their political constitution, of which he learned by con- 
versing with many of the leading men of the state. On his 
return he told Pyrrhus that the senate seemed to him like an 
assembly of kings. 

After this event Gains Fabricius came to arrange terms 
for the exchange of prisoners. He was a man whom Cineas 
said the Romans valued especially for his virtue and bravery, 
but who was very poor. Pyrrhus, therefore, entertained 
Fabricius privately and offered him money, not as a bribe 
for a base act, but as a pledge of sincere friendship. Fa- 
bricius refused. Desiring to make an impression on him, 
Pyrrhus waited till next day, and as his guest had never seen 
an elephant, the king had his largest elephant placed behind 
Fabricius during their conference, concealed by a curtain. 
At a given signal the curtain was withdrawn, when with a 
harsh and terrible cry the creature stretched out his trunk 
over the head of Fabricius, who quietly turned round and 
said to Pyrrhus, " You could not move me with your gold 
yesterday nor can you move me with your beast to-day." 



Why Pyrrhus failed 



83 



Plutarch, 
Pyrrhus, 26, 



After spending six years of constant fighting in Italy and The failure 
Sicily, Pyrrhus failed. During this time he lost a great part ° ^" "^ 
of his force, but always, even in his defeats, kept his reputa- 
tion for invincible bravery. In warlike skill and personal 
strength and daring he was thought to be by far the first 
prince of his age. Yet he always threw away the advantages 
which he had gained, to follow some chimerical scheme of 
further conquest. He was unable to take proper measures 
for the present because of his eagerness for the future, 

(Soon after Pyrrhus had withdrawn from the peninsula, 
the Romans conquered Tarentum and made themselves 
masters of all Lower Italy.) 



STUDIES 

1. What were the provisions of the first treaty between Rome and 
Carthage ? From this treaty what may we infer as to the relations 
between these states ? as to their comparative power ? 

2. What does the myth of Horatius at the bridge teach in regard 
to Roman character ? Did Lars Porsena or the Romans have the 
advantage in the treaty then concluded ? 

3. What were the provisions of the treaty between Rome and La- 
tium ? Does the treaty represent the two powers as equal ? 

4. What light does the myth of Coriolanus throw (i) on Roman 
patriotism, (2) on family affections? 

5. From the maps {Nome, pp. i, 41 ; Ancient History, pp. 255, 283) 
describe the location of Latium, Etruria, Carthage, the Volscians, the 
.(Equians, Veil, the AUia, Samnium, Tarentum, and Lucania. 

6. Give an account of the siege of Veii. What features of the 
story seem to be mythical ? Write a biography of Camillus, including 
a description of his character. Was he patriotic ? Compare Coriolanus. 

7. Give an account of the Gallic invasion and of the sack of Rome. 

8. In what respects were the Latins and the Romans alike ? What 
may we learn of Roman character from the story of Titus Manlius ? 

9. How did the Samnites levy and equip their troops ? Were the 
Samnites or the Romans the better fighters ? 

10. Write a biography of Pyrrhus, and describe his character. As 
a man and a general how does he compare with the most famous 
Romans ? What was the character of the Tarentines ? 

11. What were the leading traits in the character of Appius Clau- 
dius Crecus and Fabricius ? 



CHAPTER IV 

The Government and the Political Parties 

First Period of the Republic — Internal History 

(509-264 B.C.) 



the government 



The Repub- 
lic, 509 B.C. 

Cicero, Re- 
public^ ii. 30. 



(Law of 
Valerius 
Publicola.) 

The consuls. 
Livy ii. i. 



Rome, p. 27; 
Ancient His- 
tory, T^.TTJl. 



After the kingship had lasted more than two hundred 
and fifty years, Tarquin was expelled. At this time the Ro- 
mans hated the name of king as much as they had once 
longed for the deceased — or rather the departed — Romu- 
lus. When Tarquin was banished, therefore, the monarchy 
came to an end. 

Then Publicola had a law passed by the popular assembly 
that no magistrate should put to death or scourge a Roman 
citizen without granting him the right of appeal to the people. 

But we date the beginning of liberty from this period be- 
cause the consuls were annual magistrates, not because they 
had any less power than that of king. The first consuls had 
all the privileges and trappings of royal authority. Care was 
taken, however, that they might not appear doubly terrible 
by both having the (lictors and) fasces at the same time. 
With the consent of his colleague Brutus was first attended 
by the fasces. He had been zealous in establishing liberty, 
and now he was its faithful guardian. First of all he required 
the people, while still enraptured with their new liberty, to 
swear that they would never again suffer a king to rule at 
Rome ; for he feared that they might afterward be won over 
or bribed by the royal family. Next, that a full list of mem- 
bers might give the senate more strength, he chose into it the 

84 



Senate and Magistrates 85 

principal men from the class of knights so as to complete 
the number three hundred, which the king's murders had 
diminished. 

Then the Romans attended to religious matters. The King of the 
kings had performed a part of the public worship ; and in ^/^Jl- safr^,. 
order that their service might not be missed, a king of the ^«»^.) 
sacrifices was appointed. This priestly office the Romans Livy ii. 2. 
made subject to the chief pontiif, in order that too great Kome.p.zg; 
honor, added to the name of king, might not endanger their ■^"'^'^"^ ^'^- 
liberty, now their chief care. 

In that period the senate maintained the commonwealth The senate 
in such a condition that, though the people were free, they sufs**^^ '^°°" 
had little to do with the government ; for the senate managed cjcero Re- 
nearly all public business by its own authority and according public', \\. 2,2. 
to its own customs and traditions, while over all, the consuls 
exercised a power which, though annual, was by nature and 
law truly royal. They earnestly enforced that rule which has 
done so much to maintain the power of the nobles, that the 
acts of the popular assembly should not be valid unless 
approved by the senate. 

Scarcely ten years after the first consuls, Titus Lartius was The dictator, 
appointed first dictator. This new office seemed like the 498 b.c. 
royal power restored. ^ Ro7ne, p. 68. 

Immediately after receiving his authority, he appointea Dionysius v. 
Spurius Cassius master of horse, for no one to this day when ^^" 
chosen dictator enters upon his office without a master of 
horse. Wishing to make a display of his power for the pur- 
pose of striking terror rather than for any real use, he bade 
his lictors bear through the city their axes bound in rods 
(fasces). This was a custom of the kings but abandoned by 
the consuls, for Valerius Publicola made the change in order 
to render the consular office less hateful to the people. 

When the first dictator was appointed at Rome, the people, Livy ii. 18. 
seeing the axes carried before him, were struck with awe, 
so that they became more submissive and more obedient to 
orders. Under the consuls a citizen oppressed by one could 



86 Government and Political Parties 

ask the aid of the other ; but under the dictator there was 
no such means of assistance ; neither was there a right of 
appeal or any other resource except in strict obedience. 

The Plebeians 



The nobles 
oppress the 
people. 

Sallust, His- 
tory (a frag- 
ment). 

(The patri- 
cians are the 
nobles, the 
plebeians the 
commons.) 



The people 
rebel. 



Their dicta- 
tor resigns. 

Livy ii. 3r. 



From the very beginning of the republic the strong were 
encroaching on the weak, and for this reason the people 
were alienated from the senate. After the expulsion of the 
kings the ruling class exercised justice and moderation till 
only the dread of Tarquin and the fierce war with Etruria 
had subsided. From that time the patricians began to 
tyrannize over the plebeians as over slaves, to scourge and 
put them to death with authority like that of kings, to expel 
them from their lands, and excluding them from the govern- 
ment, to keep it entirely in their own hands. Greatly op- 
pressed by these severities and still more by the illegal 
interest on debts, the people had also to contribute taxes 
and personal service for incessant wars. 

(Finally when a war with the ^quians and other neigh- 
bors broke out, the men of military age refused to enlist, 
till the government appointed as dictator Manius Valerius, 
brother of Publicola, a warm friend of the people. When 
the dictator had given his word that after the war they 
should have their grievances redressed, they readily enlisted, 
and soon brought the war to a successful close.) 

First of all Valerius brought before the senate a proposal 
for the relief of those who were in prison for debt. And when 
his motion was rejected, he said, " I am not acceptable as an 
adviser of concord. You will ere long wish, depend on it, 
that the commons of Rome had patrons like me. For my 
part I will not further disappoint my fellow-citizens nor will 
I be dictator to no purpose. Civil discord and foreign wars 
made this magistrate necessary. Peace has been secured 
abroad but is impeded at home. I will witness the trouble 
as a private citizen, not as dictator." Then quitting the 



The First Secession 



87 



senate-house, he retired from his office. The commons 
saw he had resigned through indignation at their wrongs, 
and felt that his engagements to them were fully discharged, 
as it had not been his fault that they were not made good. 
When he was returning home, accordingly, they attended 
him with shouts of approval. 

The senators feared that if the army should be disbanded. They secede 
secret meetings and conspiracies might be renewed. Now |°acre^d 
it happened that though the dictator had levied these troops. Mount, 
they had sworn obedience to the consuls. As the senate Livy ii. 32. 
supposed, therefore, that after the resignation of the dictator, 
the soldiers would still be bound by their oaths to the con- 
suls, it pretended that a new war with the ^quians was 
breaking out. On this pretext it ordered the consuls to 
lead the legions from the city ; but this movement merely 
hastened the sedition. At first the soldiers, to free them- 
selves from their oaths, even thought of killing the consuls ; 
but when they were told that no religious obligation could 
be discharged by a criminal act, they took the advice of 
Sicinius to retire without the orders of the consuls to the 
Sacred Mount beyond the river Anio, three miles from the 
city. This form of the story is more common than that 
told by Piso, which states that the soldiers seceded to the p. 44. 
Aventine. There without any leaders they fortified their 
camp with a wall and trench. Taking nothing (from the 
neighboring fields) but what was necessary for sustenance, 
they remained quiet for several days, neither attacked nor 
attacking others. 

Great was the panic in the city ; all were in suspense A panic in 
through fear of one another. The people left in the city *^® "^^^ 
dreaded the violence of the senators ; the senators dreaded 
the people who remained in the city. The nobles did not 
know whether they should prefer the commons to stay 
or depart. "How long," they asked, "will the multitude 
which has seceded remain quiet? What would result if 
meanwhile any foreign war should break out? Certainly 



88 Government and Political Parties 



The fable of 
the stomach 
and limbs. 



The tribunes 
of the plebs. 

Livy ii. 33. 



493 B.C. 



no hope would be left save in the concord of the citizens. 
Harmony must be restored to the state by fair or unfair 
means." They resolved therefore to send to the seceders 
Menenius Agrippa, an eloquent man and a favorite with 
the people, because by birth he was one of their number. 
Admitted to the camp, he is said to have told in old-fash- 
ioned, homely words the following story. 

" Once when all the parts of the human body did not, as 
now, agree together, but the several members had each its 
own scheme and language, the parts were all indignant that 
their care, labor, and service procured everything for the 
use of the stomach, which remained idle in the middle of 
the body and did nothing but enjoy itself. They conspired 
accordingly that the hands should not carry food to the 
mouth, nor the mouth receive it when presented, nor the 
teeth chew it. But while, under the influence of this feel- 
ing, they were trying to subdue the stomach by famine, the 
members themselves and the entire body were reduced to 
the last degree of leanness. In this way it became evident 
that the service of the stomach was by no means a slothful 
one ; that it did not so much receive nourishment as supply 
it, sending to all parts of the body this blood by which we 
live and possess strength, and distributing it equally among 
the veins after it has been perfected by the digestion of the 
food." By showing in this way how similar the internal 
sedition of the body was to the resentment of the people 
against the senators, he made an impression on the minds 
of the multitude. 

Then they began to consider a reconcihation, and among 
the conditions it was allowed that the plebeians should have 
their own magistrates, with inviolable privileges, who should 
have the power of bringing common people aid against the 
consuls, and that it should not be lawful for any of the pa- 
tricians to hold this office. In this way two tribunes of the 
plebs were created. 

By the institution of two tribunes to appease the sedition 



An Agrarian Reformer 



89 



of the people, the power of the senate was lessened. Still 
it remained dignified and august, for it was still composed 
of the wisest and bravest men, who protected their country 
in peace and in war. Their authority was still strong be- 
cause in honor they were superior to their fellow-citizens. 



Cicero, Re- 
public, ii. 34. 



Spurius Cassius 



(Some years afterward) Spurius Cassius and Proculus 
Virginius were elected consuls. They made a treaty with 
the Hernicans, according to which these people were de- 
prived of two-thirds of their territory. Cassius planned to 
distribute one-half of this land among the Latins, the other 
half among the Roman commons. To this donation he 
wished to add a considerable portion of public land occu- 
pied by private persons. This policy alarmed several of 
the senators, the actual occupiers, for they were in danger 
of losing the property. The senators were anxious, too, in 
behalf of the state, for by his gift the consul was establishing 
an influence dangerous to liberty. This was the first pro- 
posal of a land law, which down to the time within our own 
memory has never been agitated without the greatest civil 
commotion. . . . 

Both consuls vied with each other in humoring the 
commons. Virginius said he would suffer the lands to be 
assigned, provided they were assigned to no one but to 
Roman citizens. Cassius, who by this proposal sought popu- 
larity among the allies, was therefore lowered in the esteem 
of his countrymen. That he might win them by another 
gift, he ordered that the money received for the Sicilian 
corn should be refunded to the people. This proposal the 
people rejected as nothing less than a bribe for regal au- 
thority. So strongly were his gifts spurned by men, as if 
they possessed everything in abundance, for they suspected 
that he was aiming to obtain sovereign power. As soon as 
he went out of office, he was condemned and put to death. 



His agrarian 
law. 

286 B.C. 
Livy ii. 41. 

(In stating 
that the Her- 
nicans were 
deprived of 
part of their 
land, Livy 
has certainly 
made a mis- 
take.) 



Rivalry of 
the consuls. 

(All now 
agree that 
this part of 
the story is 
unhistorical. 
Some fea- 
tures of it are 
taken from 
the period of 
the Gracchi.J 



90 Government and Political Parties 



Death of 
Cassias. 



(Goddess of 
the earth, 
Greek Gaea.) 



Some think that his father was the person who inflicted 
the punishment, that after trying his son at home he 
scourged him and put him to death, and consecrated his 
property to Ceres, and that from the money obtained by 
the sale a statue was set up with the inscription Dedi- 
cated BY THE Cassian Family. In some authors I find it 
stated, with greater probability, that the quaestors Caeso 
Fabius and Lucius Valerius set a day for his trial, on which 
the people in the assembly condemned him. By a decree 
of the assembly his house in the open space before the 
temple of Tellus was torn down. 



The Decemvirs 



The decem- 
virs, 451-449 

B.C. 

Cicero, Re- 
public, ii. 36. 



Their 
tyranny. 

Cicero, Re- 
public, ii. 37. 
(In the best 
form of gov- 
ernment the 
social ranks 
— nobles and 
commons — 
are fairly rep- 
resented.) 

(But cf. 
Rome, pp. 
77-79-) 



(Afterward) at a time when the authority of the senate 
was great, and the people were submissive and obedient, a 
new plan was adopted. In place of the consuls and the 
tribunes of the plebs, ten men — decemviri — with abso- 
lute authority, from whom there could be no appeal, were 
elected to conduct the government and to write the laws. 
After they had compiled ten tables of the laws with justice 
and wisdom, the people elected for the following year 
another board of ten, whose integrity and justice do not 
deserve similar praise. 

A third year followed under the same decemvirs, who 
would not allow successors to be elected. This condition 
of the state, as I have often said, could not be lasting, for 
the authority was not distributed among the social ranks but 
was all vested in ten great nobles, who were limited neither 
by the tribunes of the plebs, nor by other magistrates, nor 
by the right of appeal to the people in cases involving the 
death penalty or scourging. 

The injustice of these men accordingly excited a great 
revolution, and completely changed the form of government. 
They added two tables of unjust laws ; and though inter- 
marriages had been permitted even with foreign nations, 



The Second Secession 91 

they by a most inhuman law forbade intermarriages between 
the patricians and the plebeians, — a regulation afterward 
repealed by the Canuleian law. Furthermore they intro- 
duced into all their measures corruption, cruelty, and 
avarice. The story is well known, and celebrated in many 
literary works, that Decimus Verginius was obliged to stab 
his maiden daughter in the midst of the Forum to save her 
from the depraved violence of one of those decemvirs. The 
desperate father fled to the Roman army, which was en- 
camped at Mount Algidus. The troops then abandoned 
the war in which they were engaged, and took possession of 
the Sacred Mount, as they had done before on a similar P. 87. 
occasion. Marching thence under arms, they seized the 
Aventine. 

The senate then decreed that the decemvirs should Their fall, 
immediately resign their office, that Quintus Furius, the '^^^ ' ' 
chief pontiff, should hold an election (comitia) of the ivy"'-54- 
plebeian tribunes, and that no one should suffer harm for 
having taken part in the secession. After passing these 
decrees, the senate was dismissed, whereupon the decemvirs 
came before the assembly and to the great joy of all re- 
signed their office. Messengers carried this news to the 
commons in the camp. All who were in the city followed 
the messengers ; and this throng was met by another joyous 
crowd from the camp. They congratulated one another on 
the restoration of peace and harmony in the state. The 
messengers addressed the people, — " May it be well and 
fortunate and happy for you and for the republic ; return 
now to your country, to your household gods, your wives, 
and children, but bring into the city the same moderation 
which you have shown here, where you have touched no 
one's field, though you needed a great supply of provisions 
for this vast multitude. Go to the Aventine, whence you 
have come. In that auspicious place, where you took the 
first step toward liberty, you shall elect tribunes of the plebs. 
The chief pontiff will be at hand to hold the comitia." 



92 



Government and Political Parties 



The tribal 
assembly, 

449 B.C. 

Livy iii. 55. 



FuneralSr 



Great was the applause and joy with which they assented 
to every measure. Hastily they raised their standards, and 
setting out for Rome, they tried in expressions of gladness 
to outdo every one they met on the way. When they 
arrived at Rome, they gathered in their comitia under the 
chief pontiff for the election of their tribunes. . . . 

Then Lucius Valerius and Marcus Horatius were elected 
consuls through an interrex, and immediately entered office. 
Their consulship was popular ; and though they were dis- 
agreeable to the rest of the patricians, they did no real 
injury to that party. For the measures these magistrates 
took to secure the liberty of the commons merely limited 
their own power. Because there was a difference of opin- 
ion as to whether the resolutions of the plebeian assem- 
bly were binding on the patricians, the consuls passed a 
law through the assembly of centuries that whatever the 
tribal assembly of plebeians decreed should bind the entire 
people. This law gave a keen-edged weapon to resolutions 
proposed by the tribunes (who presided over the plebeian 
assembly). 

Laws of the Twelve Tables 

Let the master of a funeral make use of a public officer 
and lictors. Let it be lawful for him to use three mantles 
in a funeral, a purple fillet for the head, and ten flute-players. 
Let him do no more than this. 

Let none pour wine mixed with precious ointment into 
dead bodies. 

Let none make more than one funeral for one person, or 
carry more than one bier in the funeral procession. 

Let none make use of gold in funerals. But if the 
teeth of the deceased are fastened with gold, let none be 
prosecuted for burying or burning the deceased with that 
gold. 

Let not women scratch their faces or tear their cheeks or 
raise lamentations on account of a funeral. 



The Twelve Tables 



93 



Let the praises of honored men be repeated in a gathering 
of the people ; and let songs of mourning, accompanied with 
a flute, attend these praises. 

Let the father have power over the life and death of his 
son. Let it be lawful to sell the son as a slave three times. 
If the father shall sell the son three times, let the son be free 
from his father. 

Let there be a space of two and a half feet round the outer 
wall of every house. 

Let an oath be of the greatest force to insure credit. 

Let no man take more interest for money than one per 
cent a month. If he shall do otherwise, let him be fined 
four times that sum. 

If a judge or arbitrator appointed by law shall take money 
for a judgment to be given, let the crime be capital. 

If any one breaks the limb of another and makes no repara- 
tion, let retaliation take place. 

Whoever shall mahciously burn another's house, let him 
be bound and whipped at the discretion of the praetor, and 
burned. But if the mischief is accidental, let him, at the 
discretion of the praetor, repair the damage or be punished 
for it by being whipped. 

If any one shall publish slander or write verses to the 
defamation of another, let the offence be capital. If any 
shall assemble in the city privately at night, let the offence 
be capital. 

Let there be no intermarriage between patricians and 
plebeians. 

Let thirty days' grace be granted after a debt has been 
confessed and judgment given. Then let the debtor be 
seized. Let the creditor bring him before the court. If he 
does not obey the summons, or is not bailed by anyone, let 
the creditor take him away and bind him with a thong or 
with fetters weighing no more than fifteen pounds, or if he 
will, less. If the debtor pleases, let him maintain himself. 
If he does not maintain himself, let the one who keeps him 



The family 
and prop- 
erty. 



Crimes. 



Rome, p. 86; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 309. 



Debtors. 



94 Government and Political Parties 

in bonds give him a pound of spelt every day ; if he 
thinks fit, more. Meantime let there be an agreement. 
If the debtor does not agree with his creditor, let the latter 
keep him in bonds sixty days. In this period let the creditor 
cite him to court three market days in succession, and let him 
proclaim the sum at which the costs are laid. Then let the 
creditor put him to death ; or if he pleases, sell him as a 
slave in a foreign country beyond the Tiber. But if the 
debtor is assigned to many creditors, let them on the third 
market day cut his body into several pieces. If they cut 
more or less, let it bring no damage to themselves. 

A New Office 

The censors, In the year in which Marcus Geganius Macerinus was con- 
443 B.C. g^j ^ second time and Titus Quinctius CapitoUnus a fifth 

ivy IV. , time, the censorship was instituted. Though of humble 
origin, it grew in importance till it came to regulate the 
morals and discipline of Rome, to revise the list of the sena- 
tors and knights, to mark the citizens with honor or dis- 
grace, and to control the revenues of the state. The 
Romans instituted the office because the census and assess- 
ment of citizens had not been taken for several years. This 
work could no longer be deferred, and the consuls had no 
leisure to attend to it while wars with so many states were 
impending. 

First some one in the senate suggested that a duty labo- 
rious in itself and little suited to the consular office needed 
an especial magistrate, under whose authority should be 
placed the several clerks, the care of the records, and the 
whole business of taking the census. And though the pro- 
posal seemed insignificant, the senate received it gladly be- 
cause it increased the number of patrician magistrates. The 
senate must have felt, too, that the magistracy was sure to 
become dignified and influential. The tribunes, regarding 
the office as a necessary rather than a brilliant one, made no 



Marcus Manlius 



95 



opposition for fear that they might seem through sheer per- 
verseness to thwart the senate even in trifles. 

After the chief men in the state had rejected the honor, 
the people elected to the censorship Papirius and Sempro- 
nius, concerning whose consulship in the preceding year there 
had been some doubt. This new office was to repay them for 
having held the consulship for a part only of the year. From 
the nature of their duties they were called censors. 

A Reformer 



(Year after year the plebeians elected patrician magistrates, 
who in return did nothing to improve the condition of the 
poor. After a time the barbarous Gauls invaded the coun- 
try, burned the houses of the peasants, and destroyed their 
crops. The wretched peasants fell into debt to the pa- 
tricians, who imprisoned or sold as slaves those who could 
not pay. Under these circumstances Marcus Manlius, a 
patrician of great fame and ability who had saved the Capi- 
toline Hill from the Gauls, began with his private means to 
relieve the distress.) 

When he saw a centurion, renowned for warlike deeds, 
led off to prison for debt, he ran up with his attendants in 
the middle of the Forum, and laying hands on the prisoner, 
he protested aloud against the insolence of the patricians, 
the cruelty of the usurers, the wrongs of the commons, and 
the deserts and misfortune of the centurion. " In vain," he 
said, " have I preserved the Capitol and citadel by this 
right hand, if I am to see my fellow-citizens and fellow- 
soldiers, as though captured by the victorious Gauls, dragged 
into slavery and chains." He then paid the debt to the 
creditor openly before the people, and after purchasing the 
man's liberty with bronze weighed on the scales, he set him 
free. 

The released officer implored both gods and men to re- 
ward Marcus Manlius, his liberator, the parent of the Roman 



The 

wretched 

peasants. 

P. 69. 



Marcus 
Manlius. 

Livy vi. 14. 



A centurion 
praises him. 



96 Government and Political Parties 



Manlius 
grows more 
popular. 

P. 69. 



The dictator 

imprisons 

him. 

Livy vi. 16. 



commons. Passing into the noisy crowd, the man even in- 
creased the disturbance by showing the scars he had received 
in the wars with Veii, with the Gauls, and with other nations. 
"While I was serving in the army," he said, "and was try- 
ing to rebuild my house which had been destroyed, I paid 
off the principal of the debt many times over, but still the 
interest always kept adding to the principal till I was over- 
whelmed with interest. But through the kind aid of Marcus 
Manlius I now behold the light, the Forum, and the faces of 
my fellow-citizens. From him I receive all the kind services 
which usually come to children from parents. To him 
therefore I devote whatever remains of my person, my life, 
and my blood. Whatever ties bind me to my country, and 
to the guardian gods of the state and of my house, — all join 
me to him alone." 

Excited by these words, the plebeian crowd was all for 
Manlius, when another event increased the confusion. Man- 
lius offered for sale the principal part of his estate — a farm 
in the district taken from Veii. " I do this," he explained, 
" that I may not suffer one of you, Romans, as long as any 
of my property remains, to be delivered over to a creditor 
and to be dragged off to prison." His conduct in this mat- 
ter so inflamed their minds that they determined to follow 
the defender of their freedom through everything right or 
wrong. Furthermore in his own house he made speeches, 
like public harangues, full of accusations against the patri- 
cians. He even insinuated that the patricians were conceal- 
ing treasures of gold which had been retaken from the Gauls. 
" They no longer content themselves with occupying the 
public land," he exclaimed, " but they appropriate the public 
funds. If the truth of this matter should be brought to light, 
the poor could be freed from their debts." 

The dictator ordered him to lay aside evasion, and to prove 
the truth of his assertion or to confess that he had falsely 
accused the senators, exposing them in this way to public 
hatred. But as he refused to speak or to meet the wishes 



A Trial for Treason 



97 



of his enemies, the dictator ordered him to be carried off 
to prison. 

Thereupon persons were heard freely chiding the multi- 
tude because by their favor they were always raising their 
defenders to a dangerous height, only to forsake them in 
time of trouble. " In this way," they continued, " Spurius 
Cassius, when inviting the commons to share in the lands, 
and Spurius Mselius, when warding off famine from the 
mouths of his fellow-citizens at his own expense, have been 
undone ; thus Marcus Manlius is betrayed to his enemies 
while he is bringing forth to Uberty and light one-half of 
the state, which was sunk and overwhelmed in usury. The 
commons fatten their favorites for slaughter. Is this to be 
the punishment, if a man of consular rank does not answer 
to the nod of a dictator? . . ." 

The crowd did not disperse even for the night, but threat- 
ened to break open the prison. Seeing that Manlius would 
be set free by force, the senate decreed his release ; but so 
far from calming the sedition, this act merely supplied it 
with a leader. 

With the approval of all, (the tribunes) appointed a day 
of trial for Manlius. When the trial came, the commons 
were at first excited, especially when they saw the accused 
in mourning and alone ; for not only the patricians, but even 
his kinsmen, nay even his brothers, Aulus and Titus Manlius, 
had forsaken him. Never before had it happened at such a 
crisis that a man's nearest friends failed to put on mourning. 
People said to one another, " When Appius Claudius (the de- 
cemvir) was imprisoned, Gains Claudius, though at enmity 
with him, and the entire Claudian family appeared in 
mourning ; but they are plotting to destroy this favorite of 
ours because he is the first patrician to come over to the 
commons." 

No historians say what evidence the prosecutors brought 
forward in the trial to prove that Manlius had aspired to be 
king ; writers mention only the meetings he held in his house, 

H 



What the 
people think. 



Livy vi. 17. 

Rome, p. 82 ; 
Ancient his- 
tory, p. 306. 



He is tried 
for treason. 

Livy vi. 20. 



No evidence 
of guilt. 



98 Government and Political Parties 



(Probably 
there was no 
evidence.) 



His defence. 



P. 133 f- 



his seditious words, his gifts, and his pretended discovery of 
the hidden gold. Doubtless the evidence was important, for 
the delay of the plebs in condemning him was caused, not 
by the merits of the case, but by the place of trial. This 
fact is worth noticing that all may know that his depraved 
ambition for the kingship not only deprived his former glori- 
ous deeds of all merit, but even rendered them hateful. 

It is said that in this trial he brought forward as witnesses 
nearly four hundred persons to whom he had lent money 
without interest, whose goods he had prevented from being 
sold, whom he had kept from imprisonment, after they had 
been adjudged to their creditors. Furthermore he not only 
enumerated his military rewards but also presented them to 
view — spoils of thirty enemies slain, presents from generals 
to the number of forty, the most remarkable of which were 
two mural and eight civic crowns. In addition to these 
trophies he introduced citizens rescued from the enemy, and 
mentioned as one of them Gains Servilius, now absent, but 
who when rescued was master of the horse. After he had 
recounted his martial deeds in proud language suited to the 
dignity of the subject, and had equalled his achievements by 
his eloquence, he bared his breast marked with scars he had 
received in battle ; and now and then directing his eyes to 
the Capitol, he called down Jupiter and the other gods to 
aid him in his present misfortune. He prayed that the same 
sentiments with which the gods had inspired him to protect 
the Capitoline fortress for the preservation of the Roman 
people might now inspire the Roman people to judge of him 
at this crisis in his Hfe. And he entreated them, singly and 
collectively, that they would form their decision concerning 
him, with their eyes fixed on the Capitol and citadel, and 
their faces turned to the immortal gods. 

As the people were summoned by centuries in the Cam- 
pus Martins, and as the accused, extending his hands toward 
the Capitol, directed his prayers no longer to men but to 
the gods, it became evident to the tribunes that unless they 



The End of Manlius 



99 



removed the eyes of men from the memory of so great an 
exploit, a true charge would find no place in the minds of 
the people, prejudiced as they were by such service. 

For this reason the day of trial was adjourned, and a meet- Sentence of 
ing {concilium) of the people was summoned in the Peteline ^^^*^- 
grove outside the Flumentan gate. From this place the Gate'"'^on the 
Capitol could not be seen. There the charge was proved, west side of 
and as the people's minds were now free from prejudice, a grove^is not"^ 
fatal sentence, and one which excited horror even in his ot'ierwise 

• 1 1 T ■ r^ 1 , known.) 

judges, was passed on hun. Some state that he was con- 
demned by the two judges of treason. The tribunes cast TPowt-, p. 68; 
him down from the Tarpeian rock ; and in this way that fjry'^p^^qi' 
place became a monument of distinguished glory and of 
extreme punishment. 

Marks of infamy were set upon him when dead. One was 
a public disgrace upon his dwelling, which stood on the 
ground now occupied by the temple of Moneta and the 
mint. The house was destroyed and it was proposed to 
the people that no patrician should dwell on the citadel and 
Capitol. A private disgrace was imposed by his family, 
which decreed that no one of the Manlian gens should ever 
afterward bear the name of Marcus. Such was the fate of 
a man, who had he not been born in a free state, would 
have been remembered with honor by posterity. 

In a short time, when there was no longer any danger The people 
from him, the people, remembering only his virtues, were ^^^^^ ■ 
seized with regret for him. A pestilence, too, soon followed ; 
and in the absence of other causes of so great a calamity, it 
seemed to many to have arisen from the punishment of 
Manlius. " The Capitol," they murmured, " has been pol- 
luted with the blood of its saviour ; nor has it been pleasant 
to the gods to behold the punishment of him who rescued 
their temples from the hands of the enemy." 

iLofC. 



lOo Government and Political Parties 



STUDIES 

1. Describe the government of the early republic. Compare it with 
the government under the kings. 

2. What caused the secession of the plebeians ? How was the 
trouble settled ? What do you suppose were the comparative numbers 
of the patricians and plebeians ? 

3. From the maps {Rofue, pp. 1,41; Ancient History, pp. 255, 283) 
describe the course of the Anio River; of the Tiber. 

4. Though Spurius Cassius was a real person, the story of his law 
is largely mythical. What features of the story seem to be historical? 
(^Rome, p. 75 ; Ancient History, p. 301 f.) 

5. Compare the story of the decemvirs with the account given in 
Rome, pp. 76-79 ; Ancient History, p. 303 f. What features of the 
traditional story seem to be mythical ? 

6. Soon after the fall of the decemvirs \\hat law was passed regard- 
ing one of the assemblies ? What was its purpose ? 

7. From the laws of the Twelve Tables what may we infer regarding 
(i) the funeral customs, (2) the family, (3) honesty in business, (4) 
the condition of the poor, (5) the general character of the Romans of 
the time ? 

8. What were the duties of the censors, and what was the impor- 
tance of their office ? 

9. What was the condition of the peasants in the time of Marcus 
Manlius ? How did he try to improve their condition ? Was he in 
fact a dangerous man (cf. Rome, p. 85 ; Ancient History, p. 308) ? 
Did the nobles and the tribunes have a selfish motive in attacking 
him ? 

10. Write a paper on Roman Character before the Funic Wars, 
citing for illustration as many Romans as possible. 



CHAPTER V 



The Expansion of the Roman Power 



Second Period of the Republic — External History 

(264-133 B.C.) 

Punic dominions thou seest, the Tyrians, and town of Agenor; 
But the conlines are Libyan, a race undaunted in warfare. 
Tyrian Dido the sovereignty sways, from her city an exile, 
Fleeing her brother. The tale of her grievance is lengthy, and lengthy 
Too are its mazes; but I will the main trails trace of its outlines. 
She had a husband, Sychceus, the richest in landed possessions 
Known of Phoenicians, and loved by her lorn with a passionate fond- 
ness. 
Virgin the father had given her to him, and wedded with brightest 
Omens of bliss, but her brother, Pygmalion, then was the kingdom 
Ruling of Tyrus, in crime more atrocious by far than all others. 
'Twixt them a fierce animosity came, and he basely Sychffius 
Even in front of the altars, and blinded by lust for his money. 
Stealthy, with dagger, o'erconies unawares, disregarding his sister's 
Tender attachments; and long he the deed concealed, and the pining 
Lover the villain, by many a pretext, wheedled with empty 
Hope : but the ghost of her husband unburied, itself in her night- 
dreams 
Came to her, lifting before her its visage amazingly pallid : 
Ghastly the altars it laid, and its bosom all gashed with the dagger, 
Naked to view, and uncovered each hidden misdeed of the household : 
Then it exhorts her to hasten escape, and depart from the country. 
And, as an aid for her journey, in earth it discloses her ancient 
Treasures, an unaccountable weight both of gold and of silver. 
Dido, incited by these, was preparing her flight and companions: 
Rally round her all who have felt for the tyrant a mortal 
Hate or poignant fear; the vessels, which chance to be ready, 
Seize they, and load them with gold, and away on the ocean are wafted 
Miser Pygmalion's hoardings: a woman is guide of the project. 

lOI 



The found- 
ing of 
Carthage. 

Vergil, 
yEneid, i. 
333-368. 

(Venus, in 
the disguise 
of a Tyrian 
maiden, is 
sjieaking to 
her son 
A\nea.s, who 
has been 
driven by a 
storm to the 
African 
coast.) 



I02 Expansion of the Roman Power 



Vergil, 
^fieid, i. 
418-429 



Her early 
history. 

Appian, 
Punic Wars, 



Thence to these haunts they have come, where now thou seest yon stately 

Ramparts and rising castle of recently colonized Carthage. 

Ground they have purchased, and named it, from terms of the bargain, 

the Byrsa, 
Just so much it should be as they could enclose. with a bull's hide. 

They have the meanwhile taken the road, where the pathway directs 

them. 
And were climbing a hillock, which full o'er the neighboring city 
Beetles, and high from above looks down on the opposite castles. 
Wonders ^Eneas at pile so imposing, where lately were hovels; 
Wonders he, too, at the gates, and the din, and the thoroughfares' 

pavements. 
Press on the Tyrians hotly, a part in extending the town-walls; 
Part in constructing the castle, by hand up-rolling the ashlers; 
Part in selecting a house-lot, and trenching it round with a furrow. 
Laws they enact, and magistrates choose and a reverend senate. 
Here some are dredging a harbor, there others a theatre's deep-placed 
Solid foundations are laying, and columns immense from the quarries 
Hewing, the ornamentations superb for the scenes of the future. 

The Phoenicians settled Carthage, in Africa, fifty years 
before the capture of Troy. Its founders were either Zorus 
and Carchedon, or as the Romans and the Carthaginians 
themselves think, Dido, a Tyrian woman, whose husband 
had been slain secretly by Pygmalion, the ruler of Tyre. As 
the murder was revealed to her in a dream, she embarked 
for Africa with her property and with a number of men who 
desired to escape from the tyranny of Pygmalion, and arrived 
at that part of Africa where Carthage now stands. Repelled 
by the inhabitants, they asked for as much land for a dwell- 
ing-place as they could enclose with an ox-hide. The Afri- 
cans laughed at this frivohty of the Phoenicians, and were 
ashamed to deny so small a request. Besides they could not 
imagine how a town could be built on so narrow a space ; 
and wishing to unravel the mystery, they agreed to give it, 
and confirmed the promise with an oath. The Phoenicians, 
cutting the hide round and round in one narrow strip, en- 
closed the place where the citadel of Carthage now stands, 
which from this affair was called Byrsa (a hide) . 



Carthage and Rome 103 

Proceeding from this start, and getting the upper hand of 
their neighbors, — as they were more adroit, — they built a 
city around Byrsa. Gradually acquiring strength, they mas- Appian, 
tered Africa and the greater part of the Mediterranean, car- •^^'^'^ Wars, 
ried war into Sicily and Sardinia and the other islands of 
that sea, and also into Spain. They sent out many colonies. 
They became a match for the Greeks in power, and next to 
the Persians in wealth. 

The Carthaginian constitution seems to me to have been The consti- 
in the beginning well contrived in the following important carthage 
respects. They had (two) kings, and the senate had the poiybius vi. 
powers of an aristocracy, and the people were supreme in S^- 
such affairs as affected them ; and on the whole the adjust- 
ment of the governmental powers was very like that of Rome 
and Sparta. About the time, however, when Hannibal was Greece, p. 61; 
leading Carthage to a war with Rome, the state of Carthage fj'ry'^uSi' 
was declining, but that of Rome was improving. ... In 
Carthage the influence of the people in the policy of the 
state had already risen to be supreme, whereas at Rome the 
senate was at the height of its power ; and so, as in the one 
state measures were deliberated upon by the many, in the 
other by the best men, the policy of the Romans in all public 
undertakings proved the stronger. On this account, though 
they met with capital disasters, by their prudent counsels 
they finally conquered the Carthaginians in the war. 

If we look, however, at separate details, for instance at Rome and 
the provisions for carrying on a war, we shall find that for ^^j. ^^^ ^° 
a naval expedition the Carthaginians are the better trained Poiybius vi. 
and prepared, — as it is only natural with a people with 52. 
whom this craft has been hereditary for many generations, 
and who follow the seaman's trade above all other nations 
in the world. In regard to military service on land, how- 
ever, the Romans train themselves to a much higher pitch 
than the Carthaginians. The Romans bestow their entire 
attention on this department of military service, whereas the 
Carthaginians wholly neglect their infantry, though they do 



I04 Expansion of the Roman Power 

take some slight interest in their cavalry. The reason for 
this is that they employ foreign mercenaries, but the Romans 
native and citizen levies. It is in this point that the Roman 
pohty is preferable to the Carthaginian. The one nation 
has its hopes of freedom ever resting on the courage of 
mercenary troops, the other on the valor of citizens and the 
aid of allies. The result is that even if the Romans have 
suffered a defeat at first, they renew the war with undimin- 
ished forces, which the Carthaginians cannot do. For as 
the Romans are fighting for country and children, it is im- 
possible for them to relax the fury of their struggle ; but they 
persist with obstinate resolution till they overcome their 
enemies. 
Skill In skill the Romans are far behind the Carthaginians, 

strength ° ^s I have said ; yet the upshot of the whole naval war has 
and courage, been a decided triumph for the Romans, owing to the valor 
of their men. For although nautical science contributes 
largely to success in sea fights, still it is the courage of the 
sailors which turns the scale most decisively in favor of 
victory. The fact is that the Italians as a nation are by 
nature superior to the Phoenicians and the Libyans in both 
physical strength and courage. 
Contrast in Again the Roman customs and principles regarding money 
ones y. transactions are better than those of the Carthaginians. The 
latter think nothing disgraceful that makes for gain ; with 
the Romans nothing is more disgraceful than to receive 
bribes and to make profit by improper means. For they 
regard wealth obtained from unlawful transactions to be as 
much a subject of reproach, as a fair profit from the most 
unquestioned source is of commendation. A proof of the 
fact is this. The Carthaginians obtain office by open bribery ; 
among the Romans the penalty for such conduct is death. 

The First Punic War 

Immediate (Such was the contrast between Rome and Carthage at 

cause. ^j^g ^-j^^g ^j^gy gj.gj. i^gga^j^ ^^j- against each other. The 



I 



The Mamertines 



105 



immediate cause of the war was the conduct of some Cam- 
panian mercenaries in Sicily.) 

The Carapanian mercenaries of Agathocles (tyrant of 
Syracuse) for some time cast greedy eyes upon Messene 
(Latin Messana) because of its beauty and wealth. As 
soon as they had an opportunity, therefore, they made a 
treacherous attempt upon the city. They entered it in the 
guise of friendship, and once in possession, they drove out 
some of the citizens and put others to the sword. This 
done, they seized the wives and children of the dispossessed 
citizens, each keeping those whom fortune had assigned him 
at the very moment of the lawless deed. All other property 
as well as the land they afterward divided among themselves 
and kept as their own. 

The speed with which they became masters of a fair terri- 
tory and city excited a ready imitation of their conduct. 
When Pyrrhus was crossing to Italy, the people of Rhegium 
felt a double anxiety. They were dismayed at the thought 
of his approach, and at the same time were afraid of the 
Carthaginians, who were masters, of the sea. They accord- 
ingly asked and obtained a force from Rome to guard and 
support them. The garrison, four thousand strong, under 
the command of a Campanian named Decius Jubellius, 
entered the city and for a time preserved it faithfully. But 
at last, in imitation of the Mamertines and with their aid, 
they broke faith with the people of Rhegium, enamored of 
the pleasant site of the town and the wealth of the citizens. 
Driving out some of the men and putting others to death, 
as the Mamertines had done at Messene, they seized the 
city. 

Though the Romans were much annoyed by this transac- 
tion, they could take no active steps because they were 
deeply engaged in wars. But when free from them, they 
invested and besieged the garrison. Presently they captured 
the place and killed the greater number in the assault ; for 
the men resisted desperately, knowing what must follow. 



The 
Mamertines. 

Polybius i. 7. 



Seizure of 
Rhegium. 



Deserved 
punishment. 



io6 Expansion of the Roman Power 



The Mamer- 
tines in 
trouble. 

Polybius i. 8. 



They ask 
aid of Rome. 

Polybius i. 

10. 



The Romans 
deliberate. 



More than three hundred taken alive were sent to Rome, 
and there the consuls brought them into the Forum, where 
they were scourged and beheaded according to custom ; for 
the Romans wished as far as they could to vindicate their 
good faith in the eyes of the allies. The territory and town 
they at once handed over to the people of Rhegium. 

But the Mamertines, as the Campanians at Messene called 
themselves, while they enjoyed the alHance of the Roman 
captors of Rhegium, not only exercised absolute control 
over their own town and district undisturbed, but also gave 
no little trouble to their neighbors, the Carthaginians and 
the Syracusans ; and they levied tribute on many parts of 
Sicily. But when they were deprived of this support, — 
the captors of Rhegium being now invested and besieged, 
— they were themselves promptly forced back into the town 
by the Syracusans. 

Thereupon some of them betook themselves to the protec- 
tion of the Carthaginians, and were for putting themselves 
and the citadel into their hands, while others sent an embassy 
to Rome to offer a surrender of their city, and to beg assist- 
ance on the ground of the ties of race. The Romans were 
long in doubt. The inconsistency of sending such aid seemed 
manifest. A little while ago they had put some of their own 
citizens to death, with the extreme penalties of the law, for 
having broken faith with the people of Rhegium ; and now 
so soon afterward to assist the Mamertines, who had done 
precisely the same to Messene, involved a breach of equity 
very hard to justify. 

But while fully alive to these points, they saw that Cartha- 
ginian aggression was not confined to Libya, but had em- 
braced many districts in Iberia as well ; and besides Carthage 
was mistress of all the islands in the Sardinian and Tyrrhenian 
seas. They were beginning, therefore, to be exceedingly 
anxious lest, if the Carthaginians became masters of Sicily, 
they should find them very dangerous and formidable neigh- 
bors ; for they would surround Italy on all sides and would 



Appius in Messene 



107 



occupy a position which would command all the coasts of the 
peninsula. Now it was clear that if the Mamertines did not 
obtain the assistance they asked for, the Carthaginians would 
very soon reduce all Sicily. For should they accept the offer 
of Messene and become masters of it, they were certain before 
long to crush Syracuse also, since they were already lords of 
nearly all the rest of Sicily. The Romans saw all this, and 
felt that it was absolutely necessary not to let Messene slip, 
or allow the Carthaginians to secure what would be like a 
bridge to enable them to cross into Italy. . . . They accord- 
ingly voted in favor of giving the aid. . . . 

The Roman consul Appius, for his part, gallantly crossed 
the strait by night and got possession of Messene. But he 
found that the enemy (Syracusans and Carthaginians) had 
completely surrounded the town and were vigorously press- 
ing on the attack; and he concluded on reflection that the 
siege could bring him neither credit nor security so long as 
the enemy commanded the land as well as the sea. He 
accordingly first endeavored to relieve the Mamertines 
altogether from the contest by sending embassies to both 
the attacking forces. Neither of them received his pro- 
posals, and at last, from sheer necessity, he made up his 
mind to hazard an engagement, and to begin with the 
Syracusans. 

So he led out his forces and drew them up for a fight; 
nor were the Syracusans backward in accepting the chal- 
lenge, but descended at once to give him battle. After a 
long struggle Appius got the better of the enemy and chased 
the opposing forces right up to their intrenchments. The 
result of this was that Appius, after stripping the dead, retired 
into Messene, while Hiero (king of Syracuse), with a fore- 
boding of the final result, waited only for nightfall to beat a 
hasty retreat to Syracuse. 

Next morning when Appius was assured of their flight, his 
confidence was strengthened, and he made up his mind to 
attack the Carthaginians without delay. He issued orders 



Polybius i.ii. 



The Romans 
occupy Mes- 
sene, 264 B.C. 



They defeat 
the Syracu- 



They defeat 
the Cartha- 
ginians. 



io8 Expansion of the Roman Power 



Polybius i. 

12. 



Regulus in 
Africa. 

Appian, 
Punic 
Wars, 3. 
(For the 
events lead- 
ing up to this 
invasion, see 
Rome, p. 99 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 317.) 



to the soldiers accordingly to finish their preparations early, 
and at daybreak began his sally. Engaging the enemy, he 
killed a large number of them, and forced the rest to fly pre- 
cipitately to the neighboring towns. These successes suf- 
ficed to raise the siege of Messene ; thenceforth he scoured 
the territory of Syracuse and her allies with impunity, and laid 
it waste without finding any one to dispute the possession of 
the open country with him. Finally he sat down before 
Syracuse itself and laid siege to it. 

Such was the nature and motive of the first warlike expe- 
dition of the Romans beyond the shores of Italy. 

Early in the Sicilian war the Romans sent three hundred 
and fifty ships to Africa, captured many towns, and left in 
command of the army Atilius Regulus, who took about two 
hundred more towns, which gave themselves up to him on 
account of their hatred of the Carthaginians. Continually 
advancing, the Roman general ravaged the country. There- 
upon the Carthaginians, considering their misfortune due to 
bad generalship, asked the Lacedaemonians to send them a 
commander. 

They sent Xanthippus. Regulus, encamped in the hot 
season by the side of a lake, marched round it to engage the 
enemy. His soldiers were suffering greatly from the weight of 
their arms, from dust, thirst, and fatigue, and were exposed 
to missiles from the neighboring hills. Toward evening 
he came to a river which separated the two armies. This 
he crossed at once, for he thought in this way to terrify Xan- 
thippus ; but the Lacedaemonian, anticipating an easy vic- 
tory over an enemy thus harassed and exhausted, took 
advantage of the night to draw up his forces and make a 
sudden sally from the camp. The expectation of Xanthip- 
pus was not disappointed. Of the thirty thousand men led 
by Regulus, a few only escaped with difficulty to the city of 
Aspis. All the rest were either killed or taken prisoners ; 
and among the captives was the consul Regulus himself. 

Not long afterward the Carthaginians, weary with fighting. 



History supplies Experience 109 



sent him in company with other ambassadors to Rome to 
obtain peace, or to return if it were not granted. But 
Regukis in private strongly urged the chief magistrates of 
Rome to continue the war, and then went back to certain 
torture ; for the Carthaginians shut him up in a cage full of 
spikes and in this way put him to death. 

This success was the beginning of sorrows to Xanthippus ; 
for the Carthaginians, in order that the credit might not 
seem to be due to the Lacedaemonians, pretended to honor 
him with splendid gifts, sent galleys to convey him home to 
Lacedsemon, but ordered the captains of the ships to throw 
him and his Lacedaemonian comrades overboard. In this 
way he paid the penalty for his successes. 

(According to Polybius, Xanthippus won the victory by 
bringing on the battle in a plain, where the Carthaginians 
could use their elephants to advantage. Polybius ends his 
story of the battle with some wise remarks.) 

This event conveys many useful lessons to a thoughtful 
observer. Above all, the disaster of Regulus gives the 
clearest possible warning that no one should feel too confi- 
dent of the favors of fortune, especially in the hour of suc- 
cess. Here we see one who a short time before refused all 
pity or consideration to the fallen, brought incontinently to 
beg them for his own life. Again we are taught the truth 
of that saying of Euripides — 

One wise man's skill is worth a world in arms. 

For it was one man, one brain, that defeated the numbers 
which were believed to be invincible and able to accom- 
plish everything ; and restored to confidence a whole city 
that was unmistakably and utterly ruined, and the spirits of 
its army which were sunk to the lowest depths of despair. 
I record these things in the hope of benefiting my readers. 
There are two roads to reformation for mankind — one 
through misfortunes of their own, the other through those 
of others : the former is the more unmistakable, the latter 



The 

embassy of 
Regulus. 

Appian, 
Punic Wars, 
4- 



The end of 
Xanthippus. 



The value of 
history. 

Polybius i, 
35- 



1 1 o Expansion of the Roman Power 



Hamilcar 
Barca (the 
lyightning). 

Polybius i. 

56. 

(For the 
places here 
mentioned, 
see map, 
Rome, p. I ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 255.) 



is less painful. One should therefore never choose the 
former, for it makes reformation a matter of great difficulty 
and danger ; but we should always look out for the latter, 
for thereby we can without hurt to ourselves gain a clear 
view of the best course to pursue. It is this which forces 
us to consider that the knowledge gained from the study of 
true history is the best of all educations for practical life. 
For it is history, and history alone, which without involving 
us in actual danger, will mature our judgment and prepare 
us to take right views, whatever may be the crisis or the 
posture of affairs. 

In the eighteenth year of the war the Carthaginians 
appointed Hamilcar Barca general, and put the manage- 
ment of the fleet in his hands. He took over the command 
and began to ravage the Italian coast. After devastating 
the district of Locri and the rest of Bruttium, he sailed 
away with his whole fleet to the coast of Panormus and 
seized a place called Ercte, which lies between Eryx and 
Panormus on the coast, and is reputed the best situation in 
the district for a safe and permanent camp. For it is a 
mountain rising sheer on every side, standing out above the 
surrounding country to a considerable height. The table- 
land on its summit has a circumference of not less than a 
hundred stades, within which the soil is rich in pasture and 
suitable for agriculture. The sea breezes render it health- 
ful, and it is entirely free from dangerous animals. 

On the side which looks toward the sea, as well as that 
which faces the interior of the island, it is enclosed by in- 
accessible precipices ; while the spaces between these parts 
require only slight fortifications, and of no great extent, to 
make them secure. On it is an eminence which serves at 
once as an acropolis and as a convenient tower of observa- 
tion, commanding the surrounding district. It is also sup- 
phed with a harbor conveniently situated for the passage 
from Drepana and Lilybaeum to Italy, in which is always 
an abundant depth of water. Finally the height can be 



A Carthaginian Hero 1 1 1 

reached by three ways only — two from the land side and 
one from the sea, and all of them difficult. 

Here Hamilcar intrenched himself. It was a bold meas- His wonder- 
ure ; but he had no city which he could count upon as *"^ deeds, 
friendly, and no other hope on which he could rely ; and 
though by so doing he placed himself in the very midst of 
the enemy, he nevertheless managed to involve the Romans 
in many struggles and dangers. To begin with, he would 
start from this place and ravage the seaboard of Italy as 
far as Cumae ; and again on shore, when the Romans had 
pitched a camp to overawe him, in front of the city of 
Panormus within about five stades of him, he harassed them 
in every way, and forced them to engage in numerous 
skirmishes for the space of nearly three years. Of these 
combats it is impossible to give a detailed account in 
writing. 

Presently however Fortune, acting like a good umpire in On the slope 
the games, transferred him by a bold stroke from the v,^^^^ 
locality just described and from the contest in which he p^, ^^j j 
was engaged, to a struggle of greater danger and to a local- 58. 
ity of narrower dimensions. The Romans were occupying 
the summit of Eryx, and had a guard stationed at its foot. 
But Hamilcar managed to seize the town which lay between 
these two spots. 

There ensued a siege by the Romans who were on the 
summit, supported by them with extraordinary hardihood 
and adventurous daring. The Carthaginians found them- 
selves between two hostile armies, and their supphes brought 
to them with difficulty because they communicated with 
the sea at only one point and by one road ; yet they held 
out with a determination that passes belief. -Every con- 
trivance which skill or force could sustain did they put in 
use against each other, as before ; every imaginable priva- 
tion was submitted to ; surprises and pitched battles were 
alike tried ; and finally they left the combat a drawn one . . . 
like men still unbroken and unconquered. . . . The two 



1 1 2 Expansion of the Roman Power 



Hamilcar 
goes to 
Spain. 

Polybius ii 



nations engaged were like well-bred game-cocks which fight 
to their last gasp. You may see them often, when too 
weak to use their wings, yet full of pluck to the end, and 
striking again and again. Finally chance brings them the 
opportunity of once more grappling, and they hold on till 
one or the other of them drops dead. 

241 B.C. (At last the Romans destroyed the Carthaginian fleet, 

whereupon Hamilcar, from his post on Mount Eryx, came 
to terms of peace with the enemy. Immediately a war 
broke out between Carthage and her unpaid mercenaries. 
By crushing the mutineers, Hamilcar brought this mercenary 
war, or " Libyan war," to an end.) 

As soon as they had brought the Libyan War to a conclu- 
sion, the Carthaginians collected an army and despatched 
it under the command of Hamilcar to Iberia (Spain). 
This general took over the command of the troops, and 
with his son Hannibal, then nine years old, crossing by the 
Pillars of Hercules, set about recovering the Carthaginian 
possessions in Iberia. He spent nine years there, and after 
reducing many Iberian tribes by war or diplomacy to Car- 
thaginian rule, he died in a manner worthy of his great 
achievements ; for he lost his life in a battle against the 
most warlike and most powerful tribes. In this last fight he 
showed a brilliant and even reckless personal daring. 

(When in his last years Hannibal was an exile at the 
court of Antiochus, the Seleucid king, he told how his 
father Hamilcar, before setting out for Spain, had led him 
to the altar and made him swear eternal hatred to Rome.) 

" Antiochus, while I was yet an infant, my father Hamil- 
car when offering a sacrifice, brought me up to the altars, 
and made me take an oath that I would never be a friend 
to the Roman people. Under the obligation of this oath 
I carried arms against them thirty-six years ; this oath when 
peace was made drove me from my country, and brought 
me an exile to your court, and should you disappoint my 

Livyxxxv. 19. hopes, this oath shall guide me till I traverse every quarter 



Hannibal's 
oath. 

Ro}ne,'p.xi% ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 330. 



A Born Commander 



1 1 



3 



of the globe, — wherever I understand there are resources, 
— in order that I may find enemies of the Romans. . . . 
I hate the Romans and am hated by them. That I speak 
the truth, Hamilcar and the gods are witnesses. Whenever, 
therefore, you shall employ your thoughts on a plan of wag- 
ing war with Rome, consider Hannibal among your firmest 
friends. If circumstances force you to adopt peaceful 
measures, employ some one else with whom to deliberate." 

(After the death of Hamilcar) Hannibal drew upon him- 
self the eyes of the whole army. The veterans imagined 
that Hamilcar in his youth was restored to them. They 
noticed the same vigor in his looks and animation in his 
eye, the same features and expression of the face. He soon 
took care that his father should be the least consideration 
in winning their esteem. Never was a genius more fitted 
for the two most opposite duties of obeying and command- 
ing ; so that you could not easily decide whether he was 
dearer to the general or to the army. Hasdrubal never 
preferred giving the command to any other, when anything 
was to be done with courage and despatch ; nor did the 
soldiers feel more confidence or boldness under any other 
leader. His fearlessness in meeting dangers was equalled 
only by his prudence in overcoming them. Toil could not 
exhaust his body or subdue his mind, and he could endure 
heat and cold alike. He ate and drank not for pleasure 
but only what nature required. Working day and night, he 
thought of sleep after finishing his labor ; and then he did 
not seek a soft bed or quiet place, but wrapping himself in 
his military cloak, he would lie down amid the watches and 
the outposts of his army. Though he dressed as a common 
officer, his arms and his horses were splendid. He was by 
far the first and best among the horse and foot, — the fore- 
most to advance and last to leave an engagement. 

Excessive vices counterbalanced these high virtues of the 
hero, — inhuman cruelty, more than Punic perfidy, no truth, 
no reverence for things sacred, no fear of the gods, no re- 
I 



The charac- 
ter of Han- 
nibal. 

Livy xxi. 4. 



(Hanibal's 
brother-in- 
law, who for a 
time held 
chief com- 
mand.) 



(This is the 
misrepre- 
sentation of 
an enemy.) 



114 Expansion of the Roman Power 



His resolve. 
Livy xxi. 5. 



Rome, 
p. 104 f. ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 320 f. 



He captures 
Saguntum. 

Pglybius iii. 
17- 



The news 

reaches 

Rome. 

Livy x.xi. 16. 



spect for oaths, no sense of religion. With a character thus 
made up of virtues and vices, he served three years under 
the command of Hasdrubal without neglecting anything 
which one ought to do or see who was to become a great 
general. 

But from the day on which he was declared general (after 
the death of Hasdrubal), he acted as if Italy had been de- 
creed him as his province, and the war with Rome had been 
committed to him. Thinking there should be no delay lest, 
while he wasted time, some unexpected accident might defeat 
him — as had happened to his father Hamilcar and afterward 
to Hasdrubal — he resolved to make war on the Saguntines. 
An attack on them would doubtless excite the Romans to arms. 

After a siege extending to the eighth month, in the course 
of which he endured every kind of suffering and anxiety, he 
finally took the town. An immense booty in money, slaves, 
and property fell into his hands, which he disposed of ac- 
cording to his original design. The money he reserved for 
the needs of his projected expedition. The slaves were dis- 
tributed according to merit among his men, while the prop- 
erty was at once sent entire to Carthage. The result answered 
his expectations : the army was more eager for action ; the 
home populace more ready to grant whatever he asked ; and 
he was himself enabled by such abundant means to carry out 
many measures which were of service to his expedition. 

About this time the ambassadors who had returned from 
Carthage brought news to Rome that all appearances were 
hostile, and reported the destruction of Saguntum. Then 
such grief and pity for allies so undeservedly destroyed, and 
shame for not having given aid, and rage against the Cartha- 
ginians, and fear for the issue of events, as if the enemy were 
already at the gates, took hold of the senators. Disturbed 
by so many emotions, they trembled with fear instead of de- 
liberating. For they knew that they had never before met 
a more spirited or warlike enemy, nor had their state ever 
before been so sunk in sloth and unfit for war. 



Crossing the Alps 



115 



(Polybius, however, does not believe that the Romans The Roman 
were so troubled by the news. Such stories, he says, are carthaTe." 
the gossip of the street and of the barber shop rather than 
history.) 

The truth is that when the Romans heard of the disaster 
at Saguntum, they at once elected envoys, whom they de- 
spatched in all haste to Carthage with the offer of two alter- Polybius iii. 
natives, one of which appeared to the Carthaginians to involve ^°' 
disgrace as well as injury if they accepted it, while the other 
was the beginning of a great struggle and of great dangers. 
For one of these alternatives was the surrender of Hannibal 
and his staff to Rome, the other was war. When the Roman 
envoys arrived and declared their message to the senate, the 
Carthaginians listened to the proposals with indignation. 



The Second Punic War 

To the arguments of the Carthaginians the ambassadors 
made no answer, except that the senior among them, in the 
presence of the assembly, pointed to the folds of his toga 
and said that in them he carried peace and war, and that he 
would bring out and leave with them whichever they bade him. 
The Carthaginian king bade him bring out whichever of the 
two he chose ; and upon the Roman's replying that it should 
be war, a majority of the senators cried out in answer that 
they accepted it. 

(Hannibal then led his well-trained army over the Pyre- 
nees and marched rapidly through Gaul. With the ascent 
of the Alps, the real difficulties of his journey began to 
appear.) For as long as the Carthaginians were in the 
plains, the chiefs of the Allobroges refrained from attacking 
them, through fear of their cavalry as well as of the GaulS 
who were escorting Hannibal. 

But when the Gauls set out for home and Hannibal began 
to enter the mountainous region, the chiefs of the Allobroges 
collected large numbers of their tribe and occupied the points 



War 
declared. 



Polybius iii. 
33- 



Crossing the 
Alps, 218 B.C. 



(A Gallic 
tribe east of 
the Rhone.) 

Polybius iii. 
50- 



1 1 6 Expansion of the Roman Power 



Fighting in 

the 

mountains. 

Polybius iii. 
SI- 



of vantage in advance, on the route by which Hannibal's 
troops were forced to make their ascent. If they had only 
kept their design secret, the Carthaginian army would have 
been entirely destroyed. As it was, their plans became 
known, and though they did much damage to Hannibal's 
army, they suffered as much themselves. For when that 
general learned that the natives were occupying the points 
of vantage, he halted and pitched his camp at the foot of 
the pass, and sent forward some of his Gallic guides to recon- 
noitre the enemy and discover their plan of operations. 
The order was obeyed ; and he ascertained that it was the 
enemy's practice to keep under arms, and to guard these 
posts carefully during the day, but at night to retire to some 
town in the neighborhood. 

Hannibal accordingly adapted his measures to this strat- 
egy of the enemy. He marched forward in broad day- 
light, and as soon as he came to the mountainous part of 
the road, he pitched his camp but a little way from the 
enemy. At nightfall he gave orders for the watch-fires 
to be lit ; and leaving the main body of his troops in the 
camp and selecting the most suitable of his men, he had 
them armed lightly, and led them through the narrow parts 
of the road during the night, and seized on the spots which 
had been previously occupied by the enemy; for according 
to their custom they had abandoned these heights for the 
nearest town. 

When day broke, the natives saw what had taken place, 
and at first desisted from their attempts ; but presently the 
sight of the immense string of beasts of burden and of the 
cavalry slowly and painfully making the ascent, tempted 
them to attack the advancing line. They fell upon it accord- 
ingly at many points at once; and the Carthaginians suffered 
severe losses, not so much at the hands of the enemy as from 
the dangerous nature of the ground, which proved especially 
fatal to the horses and the beasts of burden. For as the 
ascent was not only narrow and rough but flanked also with 



Fighting under Difficulties 1 1 7 

precipices, which tended at every moment to throw the line 
into disorder, large numbers of the pack animals were hurled 
down the precipices with their loads on their backs. And 
what added more than anything else to this sort of confusion 
were the wounded horses ; for maddened by their wounds, 
they either turned round and ran into the advancing beasts 
of burden, or rushing furiously forward, dashed aside every- 
thing that came in their way on the narrow path, and so threw 
the whole line into disorder. 

Hannibal saw what was taking place ; and knowing that Hannibal 
even if they escaped this attack, they could never sur\dve ^*°^' 
the loss of all their baggage, he took with him the men who 
had seized the strongholds in the night and went to the 
relief of the advancing line. With the advantage of charg- 
ing the enemy from higher ground, he inflicted a severe 
loss upon them but suffered as severe a loss in his own 
army; for the commotion in the line now grew worse and in 
both directions at once, because of the shouts and struggles 
of the combatants. It was not till he had killed the greater 
number of the Allobroges, and had forced the rest to flee to 
their own land, that the remainder of the pack animals and 
the horses got slowly and with difficulty over the dangerous 
ground. 

After the fight Hannibal himself rallied as many as he A town 
could, and assailed the town from which the enemy had ^ ^°' 
come forth. Finding it almost deserted because the inhabit- 
ants had all been tempted out by the hope of booty, he 
got possession of it, and thereby he derived many advan- 
tages for the future as well as for the present. The imme- 
diate gain was a large number of horses and pack animals 
and men taken with them ; and for future use he got a 
supply of corn and cattle enough for two or three days. 
But the most important result of all was the terror inspired 
in the tribes farther on, which prevented any of those who 
lived near the ascent from lightly venturing to meddle with 
him again. 



1 1 8 Expansion of the Roman Power 



They reach 
the summit. 

Livy xxi. 35. 



(Toward the 
end of 
October.) 



"On the 
ramparts of 
Italy." 



Strange 
happenings 
at Rome, 

218-217 B.C. 

Livy xxi. 62. 



(After bravely facing many such difficulties and dangers) 
they came on the ninth day to the summit of the Alps. In 
making their way chiefly through trackless regions, they had 
often missed their course through the treachery of guides 
or by entering valleys at random, in their attempts to guess 
the route. For two days they encamped on the summit, 
while the soldiers, exhausted with toil and fighting, rested. 
Meantime several beasts of burden, which had fallen down 
among the rocks, reached the camp. The Pleiades were 
now setting, and a fall of snow caused great fear among the 
soldiers, who were already worn out with their many hard- 
ships. 

As the standards were moved forward at daybreak, and 
the army proceeded slowly over ground entirely blocked 
with snow, weariness and despair strongly appeared in the 
soldiers' faces. But Hannibal, advancing in front of the 
standard, ordered the soldiers to halt on a certain eminence, 
whence they had a view far and wide. There pointing out 
to them Italy and the plains of the Po which extended be- 
neath the Alpine mountains, he said, " We have surmounted 
the ramparts not only of Italy but also of the city of Rome. 
The rest of our journey will be smooth and down-hill. After 
one or at most a second battle, we shall hold in our power 
and possession the citadel and capital of Italy." 

(After suffering heavy losses Hannibal reached the plain 
of the Po River, where he defeated the Romans in two 
battles. He then rested his army till spring.) 

In and about Rome that winter many prodigies occurred ; 
or, as usually happens when the minds of men are once 
inclined to superstition, many were reported and readily 
believed. As instances of these wonders it was said that 
an infant only six months old and of good family had called 
out in the herb market " lo triumphe ! " that in the cattle 
market an ox had of his own accord climbed to the third 
story, and frightened thence by the noise of the occupants, 
had flung himself down ; that ships had been clearly seen 



An Ambuscade 



119 



in the sky ; that the temple of Hope in the herb market 
had been struck by lightning ; that the spear at Lanuvium 
had shaken itself; that a crow had flown down into the 
temple of Juno and alighted on the very couch ; that in 
the territory of Amiternum figures like men dressed in 
white had been seen in several places at a distance, but had 
not come close to any one ; that in Picenum it had rained 
stones ; that at Caere the tablets for divination had dimin- 
ished in size ; and that in Gaul a wolf had snatched the 
sword from the scabbard of a soldier on guard, and had 
carried it off. 

(Early in the spring Hannibal crossed the Apennines into 
Etruria and marched along the highway toward Rome. 
Flaminius, one of the consuls, followed close behind with 
an army.) 

The Carthaginians now reached a place formed by nature 
for an ambuscade, where Lake Trasimene comes nearest to 
Mount Cortona. A very narrow passage only intervenes, as 
though room enough had been left just for that purpose. 
Then a somewhat wider plain opens, and still farther some 
hills rise up. On these heights Hannibal pitched his camp 
in full view, where he posted his Spaniards and Africans 
under his own command. The Baleares and his other light 
troops he had ranged round the mountain ; his cavalry he 
posted at the very entrance of the defile — conveniently 
hidden behind some rising ground — in order that when the 
Romans had entered, the horsemen might advance and 
every place be closed by the lake and the mountain. 
Flaminius passed the defile before it was quite dayhght. 
He did not previously reconnoitre, though he had reached 
the lake the preceding day at sunset. 

When the troops began to spread into the wider plain, 
the commander saw that part only of the enemy which was 
opposite him ; the ambuscade in his rear and overhead 
escaped his notice. And when Hannibal had his enemy 
enclosed by the lake and mountain, and surrounded by his 



The battle 
of Lake 
Trasimene, 

217 B.C. 



Livy xxii. 4. 



(Slingers 
from the 
Baleares 
Islands.) 



The Romans 

are 

surrounded. 



1 20 Expansion of the Roman Power 

troops, he gave the signal for all at the same time to charge, 
whereupon each began to run down the nearest way. To 
the Romans the event was all the more sudden and unex- 
pected because of a mist which had risen from the lake, and 
was settling thicker on the plain than on the ridge. For 
this reason the Punic troops ran down from the various 
heights in fair sight of one another and therefore with 
greater regularity. 

As the battle-cry rose on all sides, the Romans found 
themselves surrounded before they could well see the 
enemy ; and the attack on the front and flank had begun 
before their line could be well formed, their arms prepared 
for action, or their swords unsheathed. 
The consul. Though all the rest were in a panic, the consul faced the 
Livy xxii. 5. peril undaunted. As the men turned toward the various 
shouts, they threw the line into confusion, but Flaminius 
marshalled them as well as time and place permitted. 
Wherever he came within hearing, he encouraged them, and 
bade them stand and fight. " We can escape," he cried, 
" not by vows and prayers to the gods but by courage and 
energy. Let us hew our way with the sword through the 
midst of their marshalled battalions — the less the fear the 
less the danger ! " 
Confusion. But in the noise and tumult the men heard not his advice 

and command ; and so far were they from knowing their 
own standards and ranks and position, that they hardly had 
enough courage to take arms and make ready for battle. 
Some, surprised before they could don their armor, were 
burdened rather than protected by it. In the thick dark- 
ness there was more use for ears than for eyes. Vainly 
peering in every direction, they could only hear the groans 
of the dying, the clash of blows upon armor, the mingled 
clamor of threats and fear. Some in their flight ran into 
bands of fighters ; others renewing the struggle were turned 
back by crowds of runaways. 

In vain the Romans charged in every direction, there 



Defeat 



121 



was no hope of escape ; for on their flanks the mountain and 
lake, on the front and rear the lines of the enemy encompassed 
them. As they saw their only safety lay in the right hand 
and the sword, each man became his own leader and en- 
courager to action, and an entirely new struggle arose, — 
not in a regular line of battle, with principes, hastati, and 
triarii, nor of such a sort as when the vanguard fights before 
the standards and the rest of the troops behind them, nor 
when each soldier stands in his own legion, cohort and 
company ; chance collected them into bands ; and each 
man's will assigned him his post, to fight in front or rear. 
So great was the ardor of battle, so intent were their minds 
upon the fray, that not one of the combatants felt an earth- 
quake which threw down large parts of many Itahan cities, 
turned rivers from their rapid courses, carried the sea up 
into rivers, and levelled mountains with a tremendous crash. 

Nearly three hours the battle raged, and in every quarter 
fiercely ; around the consul it was hottest and most deter- 
mined. With the strongest of his troops he promptly 
brought assistance wherever he saw his men hard pressed 
or worried. Knowing him by his armor, the enemy at- 
tacked him furiously, while his countrymen defended him. 
Finally an Insubrian horseman named Ducarius, recognizing 
his face, said to his fellows, " Lo, this is the consul who 
slew our legions and laid waste our fields and cities. Now 
will I offer this victim to the shades of my countrymen 
miserably slain ! " and putting spurs to his horse, he dashed 
through a dense throng of the enemy. First he killed the 
consul's armor-bearer, who had opposed himself to the 
attack ; then he ran the consul through with a lance. 
The veterans, by opposing their shields, kept him from 
despoiling the body. 

Then for the first time many took to flight. Neither 
lake nor mountain could now check their hurried retreat ; 
they ran over steep and narrow ways, as though they were 
blind ; arms and men tumbled upon one another. Finding 



A desperate 
struggle. 



(The three 
lines of 
heavy in- 
fantry ; Rome, 

P-45; 
Ancient 
History, 
p. 285.) 



Flaminius 
killed. 

Livy xxii. 6. 



(He had 
defeated 
them and had 
conquered 
their country, 
223 B.C.) 



Flight. 



122 Expansion of the Roman Power 

nowhere else to run, many retreating first into the shallow 
water along the shore, plunged farther in till only their 
heads and shoulders reached above. Some thoughtlessly 
tried to escape by swimming ; but as the attempt failed, 
they lost courage and were drowned in the deep water ; or 
wearied to no purpose, they made their way with extreme 
difficulty back to the shallows, — only to be cut down by 
the cavalry of the enemy, who had waded into the water. 

Nearly six thousand men in the van gallantly forced their 
way through the opposing enemy, and without knowing what 
was happening in the rear, escaped from the defile. Stop- 
ping on a certain height, and hearing naught but the shouts 
and the clash of arms, they could not through the mist 
discover what was the fortune of the battle. 

At length the contest was decided ; and when the increas- 
ing heat of the sun had dispelled the mist and cleared the 
air, — then in the bright light the mountains and the plains 
displayed the ruin of the Roman army. 

This is the famous battle of Lake Trasimene, recorded 
among the few disasters of Rome. Fifteen thousand Romans 
were killed in the struggle. Ten thousand, who had scat- 
tered in flight through all Etruria, returned to the city by 
various roads. A thousand five hundred of the enemy 
perished. 

(Next year Hannibal inflicted a still more terrible defeat 
upon the Romans at Cannae ; and though this was his last 
brilliant victory, he maintained himself in Italy many years. 
Finally he had to return to Carthage and make peace with 
Rome.) 

Who could help admiring this great man's strategic skill, 
courage, and ability, when one looks to the length of time 
Poiybius xi. during which he displayed those qualities, and realizes to 
19- one's self the pitched battles, the skirmishes and sieges, the 

revolutions and counter-revolutions of states, the vicissitudes 
of fortune, and in fact the whole course of his design and its 
execution ? 



Hannibal's Genius 



123 



For sixteen continuous years Hannibal maintained the war 
with Rome in Italy, without once releasing his army from 
service in the field, but keeping those vast numbers under 
control, like a good pilot, without any sign of dissatisfaction 
toward himself or toward one another. This he did in spite 
of the fact that the troops in his service, so far from being 
of the same tribe, were not even of the same race. He had 
Libyans, Iberians, Ligurians, Celts, Phoenicians, Italians, and 
Greeks, who naturally had nothing in common with one an- 
other, — neither laws nor customs nor language. Yet the 
skill of the commander was such that these differences, so 
manifold and so wide, did not disturb obedience to one word 
of command and to a single will. 

And yet circumstances were not by any means unvarying ; 
for though the breeze of fortune set strongly in his favor, it 
as often blew adversely. We have therefore good ground 
for admiring Hannibal's display of ability in war ; and we 
should not hesitate to say that had he reserved his attack 
upon the Romans until he had first subdued other parts of 
the world, not one of his projects would have eluded his 
grasp. As it was, he began with those whom he should have 
attacked last, and with them accordingly he began and ended 
his career. 

(Some time afterward, feeling that he was not safe from The end of 
Roman hatred even in his own city, Hannibal fled from 
Carthage and went to Antiochus, the Seleucid king, who was 
entering upon a war with Rome. When peace was made, 
Hannibal took refuge with Prusias, king of Bithynia. Some 
Romans under Flamininus came in pursuit, and Prusias 
treacherously betrayed his guest. The soldiers surrounded 
the house in which the great Carthaginian lodged.) Calling 
for the poison which he always had ready for such an event, 
Hannibal said to those who were with him : 

" Let us relieve the Romans of their anxiety, for they 
think it too long to wait for the death of an old man. Fla- 
mininus will gain no great or memorable victory over one un- 



Hannibal. 



Livy xxxix. 
51- 



1 24 Expansion of the Roman Power 

armed and betrayed soldier. Of what a change has taken 
place in the character of the Romans, this day affords abundant 
proof. Their fathers gave warning to Pyrrhus, their armed 
foe, then leading an army against them in Italy, to beware 
of poison. The men of this generation have sent an ambas- 
sador of consular rank to persuade Prusias villainously to 
murder his guest." Then imprecating curses on the head of 
Prusias and on his kingdom, and calling on the gods of hos- 
pitality, who were witnesses of this breach of faith, he drank 
the cup. This was the end of the life of Hannibal. 

The Destruction and the Restoration of Carthage 



(In 149 B.C. the Romans again made war upon Carthage ; 
and three years later Scipio yEmilianus captured the city. 
Appian's story of the sack of Carthage is quoted in Rome, 
pp. 124-126.) 

At the sight of the city utterly perishing amid the flames, 
Scipio burst into tears, and stood long reflecting on the 
inevitable change which awaits cities, nations, and dynasties, 
one and all, as it does every one of us men. This, he 
thought, had befallen Ilium, once a powerful city, and the 
once mighty empires of the Assyrians, Medes, Persians, and 
that of Macedonia lately so splendid. And unintentionally 
or purposely he quoted — 

" The day shall be when holy Troy shall fall, 
And Priam, lord of spears, and Priam's folk." 

— Iliad, VI. 448. 

And on my asking boldly — for I had been his tutor — 
what he meant by these words, he did not name Rome 
distinctly, but was evidently fearing for her, from this sight 
of the mutability of human affairs. 

Another still more remarkable saying of his I may record. 
(When he had given the order for firing the town) he 
immediately turned round and grasped me by the hand 



Carthage a Roman Colony 125 

and said, " Polybius, it is a grand thing, but, I know not 
how, I feel a terror and dread lest some one should one day 
give the same order about my own native city." 

Some time afterward in the tribunate of Gaius Gracchus Carthage re- 
uprisings occurred on account of scarcity, and it was de- 
cided to send six thousand colonists to Africa. When they '^^'"^' P- ^58- 
were laying out the land for this purpose in the vicinity of Appian, 
Carthage, all the boundary lines were torn down and de- ^"^"^ Viars, 
stroyed by wolves. Then the senate put a stop to the 
settlement. At a still later time Caesar, who afterward 
became dictator for life, pursued Pompey to Egypt, and 
Pompey's friends from there to Africa. When on this 
occasion he was encamped near the site of Carthage, it is 
said that he was troubled in a dream in which he saw a 
whole army weeping, and that he immediately made a 
memorandum in writing that Carthage should be colonized. 
Not long afterward he returned to Rome ; and while 
making a distribution of lands to the poor, he arranged 
to send some of them to Carthage and some to Corinth. 
But he was assassinated shortly afterward by his enemies in 
the Roman senate, and his son Augustus, finding this 
memorandum, built the present Carthage, not on the site 
of the old city but very near it, in order to avoid the 
ancient curse. I have ascertained that he sent about three 
thousand colonists from Rome and that the rest came from 
the neighboring country. In this way the Romans took 
Africa from the Carthaginians, destroyed Carthage, and 
repeopled it a hundred and two years after its destruction. 

(In the period extending from the opening of the First Summary of 
Punic War to the tribunate of Tiberius Gracchus — 264-133 *^°°^"^^ ^• 
B.C. — Rome conquered many other nations besides the 
Carthaginians, and extended her sway and protectorate 
from the Pillars of Hercules eastward to Mount Taurus and 
the Nile. See map for chs. v, vi, in Rome, or in part III of 
Ancient History. 



126 Expansion of the Roman Power 



STUDIES 

1. Do you suppose that the Romans really knew how Carthage was 
founded ? 

2. Contrast the Carthaginians with the Romans in (i) government, 
(2) military resources and power, (3) skill and physical strength, 
(4) honesty. 

3. Give an account of the seizure of Messene and of Rhegium. 
What do you think of the conduct of the Romans toward the captors 
of these two cities respectively ? Were the Romans doing right in aid- 
ing the Mamertines ? 

4. Give Appian's account of Regulus and Xanthippus. Compare 
the account given in Rome, p. 100; Ancient History ^. 317 f. (from 
Polybius). What is Polybius' estimate of the value of history as illus- 
trated by the fate of these two generals ? 

5. From the maps {Hotne, pp. I, 95; Ancient History, pp. 255, 315) 
describe the location of Sicily, Ecnomus, Messene, Mount Ercte, Pan- 
ormus. Mount Eryx, Lilyb?eum, Drepana, the i^ilgatian Islands, Cartha- 
ginian Libya, and Spain (Iberia). 

6. Write a biography of Hamilcar Barca, including a description of 
his character. 

7. Write a biography of Hannibal, and describe his character. 
Whose character in the Second Punic War was the more admirable, 
that of Hannibal or that of the Romans ? Would the success of Han- 
nibal have benefited the world ? 

8. Give an account of Flaminius. 

9. What led to the Roman colonization of Carthage ? 



Polybius vi. 



CHAPTER VI 

Government and Character 

Second Period of the Republic — Internal History 
(264-133 B.C.) 

THE GOVERNMENT 

The Roman government has three factors, each of them The three 

possessing sovereign power; and their respective shares of "estates" 

power in the whole state have been regulated with such of the gov- 

, , ,. 1111 ernment. 

scrupulous regard to equality and balance that no one can 

say for certain, not even a native, whether the constitution 
as a whole is an aristocracy or democracy or despotism. 
And no wonder : for if we confine our observation to the 
power of the consuls, we should be inclined to regard it as 
despotic ; if to that of the senate, as aristocratic ; and if 
finally one looks at the power possessed by the people, it 
would seem a clear case of democracy. What the exact 
powers of these several parts were, and still with slight 
modifications are, I will now state. 

Before leading out the legions, the consuls remain at I. The con- 
Rome and are supreme masters of the administration. All " . . 

, ., / r xi 1 i_ \ Polybius VI. 

other magistrates except the tribunes (of the plebs) are 12. 
under them and take their orders. They introduce foreign 
ambassadors to the senate, bring before it matters requiring 
deliberation, and see to the execution of its decrees. If 
again there are any matters of state which require ratifica- 
tion by the people, it is their business to attend to these 
affairs, to summon the popular meetings, to bring the pro- 
posals before the assembly, and to carry out the decrees 
of the majority. 

127 



128 Government and Character 



In the preparations for war, too, and briefly in the entire 
management of a campaign, they have all but absolute 
power. It is their right to impose on the allies such levies 
as they think good, to appoint the military tribunes, to make 
up the roll of soldiers, and to select those who are suitable. 
Besides they have absolute power of inflicting punishment 
on all who are under their command while in active service ; 
and they have authority to expend as much of the public 
money as they choose, for they are accompanied by a 
qugestor who is entirely at their orders. A survey of these 
powers would in fact justify our describing the constitution 
as despotic, — a clear case of royal government. Nor will 
it affect the truth of my description, if any of the institu- 
tions I have described are changed in our time, or in that 
of our posterity. The same remarks apply to what follows. 

The senate first of all controls the treasury, and regulates 
the receipts and disbursements alike. For the quaestors 
cannot issue any public money for the various departments 
of the state without a decree of the senate, except for the 
service of the consuls. The senate controls also what is by 
far the largest and most important expenditure, — that which 
is made by the censors every lustrum for the repair or con- 
struction of public buildings ; this money cannot be obtained 
by the censors except by the grant of the senate. 

Similarly all crimes committed in Italy requiring a public 
investigation, such as treason, conspiracy, poisoning, or wil- 
ful murder, are in the hands of the senate. Besides if any 
individual or state among the Italian allies requires a contro- 
versy to be settled, a penalty to be assessed, help or protection 
to be afforded, — all this is the province of the senate. Or 
again outside Italy, if it is necessary to send an embassy to 
reconcile warring communities, or to remind them of their 
duty, or sometimes to impose requisitions upon them, or to 
receive their submission, or finally to proclaim war against 
them, — this too is the business of the senate. 

In Uke manner the reception given to foreign ambassadors 



The People 



129 



III. The 
people. 

Polybius vi. 
14. 



at Rome, and the answers to be returned to them, are de- Its powers 
cided by the senate. With such business the people have ^aks!^° 
nothing to do. Consequently if one were staying at Rome 
when the consuls were not in town, one would imagine the 
constitution to be a complete aristocracy ; and this has been 
the idea entertained by many Greeks, and by many kings as 
well, from the fact that nearly all the business they had with 
Rome was settled by the senate. 

After this discussion one would naturally be inclined to 
ask what part in the constitution is left for the people, when 
the senate has these various functions, especially the control 
of the receipts and expenditures of the treasury, and when 
the consuls again have absolute power over the details of 
military preparations and an absolute authority in the field? 
There is however a part left for the people, and it is a most 
important one. For the people are the sole fountain of 
honor and of punishment ; and it is by these two powers 
and these alone that dynasties and constitutions and, in a 
word, human society are held together. For where the dis- 
tinction between them is not sharply drawn both in theory 
and practice, there no undertaking can be properly admin- 
istered, — as indeed we might expect when good and bad 
are held in exactly the same honor. 

The people then are the only court to decide matters of Their power 
life and death ; and even in cases where the penalty is money, 
if the sum to be assessed is sufficiently serious, and especially 
when the accused have held the higher magistracies. And 
in regard to this arrangement there is one point deserving 
especial commendation and record. Men who are on trial 
for their lives at Rome, while sentence is in process of being 
voted, — if one tribe only whose vote is needed to ratify the 
sentence has not voted, — have the privilege of openly de- 
parting and condemning themselves to voluntary exile. 
Such men are safe at Naples or Praeneste or at Tibur, or 
at other town with which this arrangement has been duly 
ratified on oath. 



in trials. 



130 Government and Character 



Again, it is the people who bestow offices — the most hon- 
orable rewards of virtue — on the deserving. They have too 
the absolute power of passing or repealing laws ; and most 
important of all, it is the people who deliberate on the ques- 
tions of peace or war. And when provisional terms are 
made for alliance, suspension of hostilities, or treaties, it is 
the people who ratify or reject them. 

These considerations again would lead one to say that the 
chief power in the state is the people's, and that the con- 
stitution is a democracy. 

Such then is the distribution of power among the several 
parts of the government. I must now show how these 
several parts can oppose or support one another as they 
choose. 

When the consul has started on an expedition with the 
powers I have described, he is to all appearance absolute in 
the administration of the business in hand ; still he has need 
of the support of both the people and the senate, and with- 
out them is quite unable to bring the matter to a successful 
conclusion. For it is plain that he must have supplies sent 
to his legions from time to time ; but without a decree of 
the senate they can be supplied with neither corn nor 
clothes nor pay, so that all the plans of the commander 
must be futile, if the senate is resolved either to shrink from 
the danger or hamper him. And again whether or not 
a consul shall bring any undertaking to a conclusion, de- 
pends entirely upon the senate, for it has absolute authority 
at the end of the year to send another consul to supersede 
him or to continue the existing one in his command. 

Again even to the successes of the generals, the senate 
has power to add distinction and glory, and on the other 
hand to obscure their merits and lower their credit. For 
these high achievements are brought in tangible form before 
the eyes of the citizens by what are called triumphs. But 
these triumphs the commanders cannot celebrate with 
proper pomp, or in some cases at all, unless the senate 



The Senate and the People 131 



concurs and grants the necessary money. As for the 
people, the consuls are especially obliged to court their 
favor, however distant from home may be the field of 
their operations ; for it is the people, as I have said before, 
who ratify or refuse to ratify, terms of peace and treaties ; 
and when laying down their office, the consuls have to 
give an account of their administration before the people. 
Therefore in no case is it safe for the consuls to neglect 
either the senate or the good-will of the people. 

As for the senate, which possesses the immense power I 
have described, in the first place it is obliged in public 
affairs to take the multitude into account, and to respect 
the wishes of the people. It cannot execute the penalty 
for offences against the republic which are punishable with 
death, unless the people first ratify its decrees. Similarly 
even in matters which directly affect the senators — for 
instance, in the case of a law diminishing the senate's tra- 
ditional authority, or depriving the senators of any dignities 
and offices, or even cutting down their property — in such 
cases, too, the people have the sole power of passing or 
rejecting the law. But most important is the fact that 
if the tribunes interpose their veto, the senate not only 
is unable to pass a decree, but cannot even hold a meeting, 
whether formal or informal. Now the tribunes are always 
bound to carry out the decree of the people and above 
all to have a regard for their wishes ; therefore for all these 
reasons the senate stands in awe of the multitude, and cannot 
neglect the feelings of the people. 

In like manner the people on their part are far from being 
independent of the senate, and are bound collectively and 
individually to take its wishes into account. For contracts, 
too numerous to reckon, are given out by the censors in all 
parts of Italy for the repair or construction of public build- 
ings. There is also the collection of revenue from many 
rivers, harbors, gardens, mines, and land — everything, in a 
word, which comes under the control of the Roman govern- 



{b) On the 
people. 



The senate 
dependent 
on the 
people. 

Polybius vi. 
16. 



The people 
dependent 
{a) on the 
senate. 

Polybius vi. 
17- 



132 Government and Character 



{b) On the 
consuls. 



The 

harmony 
and strength 
of the con- 
stitution. 

Polybius vi. 
18. 



ment ; and in all these works the people at large are en- 
gaged, so that there is scarcely a man, I may say, who is 
not interested either as a contractor or as an employee 
in the works. For some purchase the contracts from the 
censors for themselves ; others go partners with them, 
whereas others give security for these contractors or actu- 
ally pledge their property to the treasury for them. 

Over all these transactions the senate has absolute con- 
trol. It can grant an extension of time ; and in case of an 
unforeseen accident it can reheve the contractors from a 
portion of their obligation or release them from it alto- 
gether, if they are absolutely unable to fulfil it. And there 
are many details in which the senate can inflict great hard- 
ships, or on the other hand, grant great indulgences to the 
contractors, for in every case the appeal is to it. But the 
most important point of all is that the judges are taken 
from its members in the majority of trials, whether public or 
private, in which the charges are heavy. Consequently all 
citizens are much at its mercy ; and being awed by the 
uncertainty as to when they may need its aid, are cautious 
about resisting or actively opposing its will. And for a sim- 
ilar reason men do not rashly resist the wishes of the con- 
suls, because one or all may become subject to their absolute 
authority on a campaign. 

The result of this power of the several estates for mutual 
help or harm is a union sufficiently firm for all emergencies, 
and the best possible form of government. For whenever 
any danger from without compels these estates to unite and 
work together, the strength which is developed by the state 
is so extraordinary that everything required is unfailingly 
carried out by the eager rivalry of all classes to devote their 
whole minds to the need of the hour, and to make sure that 
any resolution agreed upon shouM not fail for want of 
promptness ; while each individual, alike in private and 
public, works for the accomplishment of the business in 
hand. The peculiar constitution accordingly makes the 



The Balance of Forces 



33 



state irresistible, and certain of obtaining whatever it 
attempts. 

Nay even when these external alarms are past, and the 
people are enjoying their good fortune and the fruits of 
their victories, and as usually happens, are growing corrupt 
through flattery and idleness, so as to show a tendency to 
violence and arrogance, — it is in these circumstances more 
than ever that the constitution is seen to possess within it- 
self the power of correcting abuses. For when any one 
of the three estates becomes puffed up, and shows an in- 
clination to be contentious and unduly encroaching, the 
dependency of all three upon one another, and the possi- 
bility of limiting and thwarting one another must certainly 
check this tendency. The proper balance is maintained 
therefore by holding the impulsiveness of one part under 
fear of the others. 

An excellent plan is adopted for inducing young soldiers 
to brave danger. When an engagement has taken place 
and any of the soldiers have shown remarkable bravery, the 
consul summons an assembly of the legion, puts forward 
those who he thinks have distinguished themselves in any 
way, and first compliments each of them individually on his 
gallantry, and mentions any other distinction he may have 
earned in the course of his life, and then presents him with 
gifts : to the man who has wounded an enemy, a spear ; to 
the man who has killed one and stripped his armor, a cup 
if he be in the infantry, horse-trappings if in the cavalry. 
Originally, however, the only present was a spear. This gift 
is not offered in the event of their having wounded or 
stripped any of the enemy in a set engagement or in the 
storming of a town ; but in skirmishes and other occasions 
in which they have exposed themselves to danger voluntarily 
and deliberately, without there being any positive necessity 
for so doing. 

In the capture of a town those who are first to mount 
the walls are presented with a golden crown. So too those 



The correc- 
tion of 
abuses. 



Encourage- 
ments to 
bravery. 

Polybius vi. 
39- 



The mural 
crown. 



134 



Government and Character 



The civic 
crown. 



Robes of 
honor and 
trophies. 



The funeral 
oration. 

Polybius vi. 
S3- 



who have defended and saved any citizens or allies are dis- 
tinguished by the consul with definite rewards ; and those 
who have been saved present their preservers voluntarily with 
a crown ; or if not, they are compelled to do so by the 
tribunes (of the plebs). The man thus saved, too, rever- 
ences his preserver through life as a father, and is bound 
to act toward him in every respect as to a father. 

By such incentives those who stay at home are stirred to 
a noble rivalry and emulation in confronting danger, no less 
than those who actually hear and see what takes place. 
For the recipients of such rewards not only enjoy great 
glory among their comrades in the army and an immediate 
reputation at home, but after their return they are marked 
men in all solemn festivals ; for they alone who have been 
thus distinguished by the consuls for bravery are allowed to 
wear robes of honor on such occasions ; and moreover they 
place the spoils they have taken in the most conspicuous 
parts of their houses as visible tokens and proofs of their 
valor. No wonder that a people whose rewards and punish- 
ments are allotted with such care and received with such 
feelings should be brilliantly successful in war. 

Whenever one of their illustrious men dies, as a part of 
the funeral the body with all its adornments is carried into 
the Forum to the rostra, as a raised platform there is called. 
Sometimes the body is propped upright upon it so as to be 
easily seen, or more rarely it is laid upon the rostra. The 
speaker is the son, if the deceased has left one of full age 
who is present at the time ; or, failing a son, one of his kins- 
men mounts the rostra, while all the people are standing 
round, and delivers a speech concerning the virtues of the 
deceased and the successful exploits performed by him in 
his lifetime. By these measures the people are reminded 
of what has been done and made to see it with their own 
eyes — not only those persons who were engaged in the 
actual transactions but those also who were not. Their 
sympathies are so deeply moved that the loss appears not 



Funerals 



135 



to be confined to the actual mourners, but to be a public 
one affecting the whole community. 

After the burial and all the usual ceremonies are performed, 
they place the hkeness of the deceased in the most conspicu- 
ous spot in the house and surmount it by a wooden canopy 
or shrine. This likeness consists of a mask made to repre- 
sent the deceased with remarkable fideUty both in form and 
in color. These likenesses they adorn with great care, and 
display them at public sacrifices. And when any illustrious 
member of the family dies, they carry these masks to the fu- 
neral, putting them on men whom they think as near hke the 
originals as possible in height and other personal peculiari- 
ties. And these substitutes assume clothes according to the 
rank of the person represented : if he was a consul or a prae- 
tor, a toga with purple stripes ; if a censor, whole purple ; 
if he had also celebrated a triumph or performed any exploit 
of that kind, a toga embroidered with gold. These repre- 
sentatives themselves ride in chariots, while the fasces and 
axes and all the other customary insignia of the particular 
offices lead the way, according to the dignity of the rank en- 
joyed by the deceased in his lifetime. On arriving at the 
rostra they all take their seats on ivory chairs in their order. 

There could not easily be a more inspiring spectacle than 
this for a young man of noble ambitions and virtuous aspira- 
tions. For can we imagine any one unmoved at the sight 
of all the likenesses collected together of the men who have 
earned glory, all as it were living and breathing? Or what 
could be a more glorious spectacle? 

The speaker over the body about to be buried, after finish- 
ing the praise of this particular person, starts upon the others 
whose representatives are present ; he begins with the most 
ancient, and recounts the successes and achievements of each. 
By this means the glorious memory of brave men is continu- 
ally renewed ; the fame of those who have performed any 
noble deed is never allowed to die ; and the renown of those 
who have done good service to their country becomes a mat- 



The masks 
{imagines). 



Rome, p. 27 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 273. 



The praise 
of departed 
heroes. 

Polybius vi. 
54- 



136 Government and Character 

ter of common knowledge to the multitude and a part of the 
heritage of posterity. But the chief benefit of the ceremony 
is that it inspires young men to shrink from no exertion for 
the general welfare, in the hope of obtaining the glory that 
awaits the brave. 

And what I say is confirmed by this fact. Many Romans 
have volunteered to decide a whole battle by a single com- 
bat ; not a few have deliberately accepted certain death, 
some in time of war to secure the safety of the rest, some in 
time of peace to preserve the safety of the commonwealth. 
There have also been instances of men in office putting their 
own sons to death, in defiance of every custom and law, 
because they rated the interests of their country higher 
than those of natural ties even with their nearest and dearest. 
There are many stories of this kind, related by many men in 
Roman history. 

Religion and Morals 

What in other nations is looked upon as a reproach — I 
mean a scrupulous fear of the gods — is, I believe, the very 
thing which keeps the Roman commonwealth together. To 
such an unusual height is this carried among them in both 
private and public business that nothing could exceed it. 
Many persons might think this unaccountable ; but in my 
opinion their object is to use it as a check upon the common 
people. If it were possible to form a state wholly of philoso- 
phers, such a custom would perhaps be unnecessary. But 
seeing that every multitude is fickle and full of lawless 
desires, unreasoning anger, and violent passion, the only 
resource is to keep them in check by mysterious terrors 
and scenic effects of this sort. Therefore, to my mind, the 
ancients were not acting without purpose or at random when 
they brought in among the vulgar those notions about the 
gods and the behef in the punishment in Hades ; much rather 
do I think that men in these times are acting rashly and fool- 
ishly in rejecting them. 



Religion 



137 



This is the reason why, apart from anything else, Greek 
statesmen, if intrusted with a single talent, though protected 
by ten checking clerks, as many seals, and twice as many 
witnesses, yet cannot be induced to keep faith ; whereas 
among the Romans in their magistracies and embassies, men 
have the handling of a great amount of money, and yet from 
pure respect to their oath keep their faith intact. And again, 
in other nations it is a rare thing to find a man who keeps 
his hands out of the public purse and is entirely pure in such 
matters ; but among the Romans it is a rare thing to detect 
a man in the act of committing a crime. 

(On entering upon an important war or in a critical battle, 
it was customary for the Romans to vow sacrifices and festi- 
vals to the gods, or sometimes a new temple to one of them, 
in the event of success. When beginning the war with 
Antiochus one of the consuls accordingly made the following 
vow : ) 

" If the war which the people have ordered to be under- 
taken against King Antiochus shall be concluded agreeably 
to the wishes of the senate and the people of Rome, then, 
O Jupiter, through ten successive days the Roman people 
will exhibit the Great Games in honor of thee, and offerings 
shall be presented at all the shrines of such value as the 
senate shall direct. Whatever magistrates shall celebrate 
thcGC games, and at whatever time and place, let the cele- 
bration be deemed proper, and the offerings rightly and duly 
made." 

As the war (with Hannibal) lengthened, and the feelings 
no less than the circumstances of men changed with the ebb 
and flow of Roman fortune, the citizens were seized with so 
great a passion for superstitious customs, mostly from foreign 
countries, that either the people or the gods appeared to 
have undergone a sudden change. And now the Roman 
rites were falling into disuse, not only in private but in public 
as well. 

In the Forum and in the Capitol were crowds of women 



Honesty. 



A religious 
vow. 



Livy xxxvi. 2. 

(Games con- 
sisted of box- 
ing, dancing, 
chariot races 
in the Circus, 
etc. The 
Great Games 
were in ful- 
filment of a 
vow.) 



Increasing 
supersti- 
tion. 

Livy XXV. I. 

Rome, p. 149 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 347. 



138 Government and Character 



Attempts to 

restrain 

superstition. 



(The calends 
are the first 
day of the 
month.) 

The 
Bacchantes. 



Livy xxxix. 
13- 



sacrificing and offering up prayers to the gods in modes 
unusual in this country. A low class of sacrificers and seers 
had enslaved men's understanding. This class was recruited 
from the country people, whom want and terror had driven 
into the city ; for the fields were uncultivated during the 
long war, and suffered from the incursions of the enemy. 
Others joined the class in order to take advantage of ignorant 
people, and carried on their profitable trade like a legal and 
customary business. 

At first good men privately expressed the indignation they 
felt at these proceedings ; but afterward the mischief was 
reported to the fathers, and became a matter of public com- 
plaint. The sediles and the three executioners of criminals 
were severely reprimanded by the senate for not preventing 
this nuisance ; but when these officials attempted to remove 
from the Forum the crowd of persons thus employed, and to 
overthrow the preparations for the sacred rites, they narrowly 
escaped personal injury. 

As it was now evident that the evil was too powerful to be 
checked by inferior magistrates, the senate commissioned 
Marcus Atilius, the city praetor, to rid the people of these 
superstitions. He called an assembly, in whir'* -V^ fead the 
decree of the senate and gave notice that ai; 'persons who 
had any books of divination, or forms of prayer, oi- any 
written system of sacrificing, should deliver all the aforesaid 
books and writings to him before the calends of April ; and 
that no person should sacrifice in any public or consecrated 
place according to new or foreign rites. 

(These measures were successful ; but some years after- 
ward the state was troubled by the secret societies of the 
Bacchantes — worshippers of Bacchus.) If any novices in 
these societies were less patient in submitting to dishonor, 
or more averse to the commission of crime, they were sacri- 
ficed as victims. To think nothing unlawful was the grand 
maxim of their religion. As if bereft of reason, the men 
uttered prophecies with frantic contortions of their bodies. 



Luxury 



139 



The women, dressed as Bacchantes, with hair dishevelled 
and carr3ing torches, ran down to the Tiber ; there dipping 
their torches in the water, the women drew them up again 
with the flame unextinguished, composed as they were of 
native sulphur and charcoal. Those associates whom the 
machines laid hold of, and dragged from their view into 
secret caves, they said were carried off by the gods. These 
victims were such as refused to take the oath of the society 
or to associate in their crimes or to submit to pollution. 
The number of persons in these societies was very great now, 
almost a second state in themselves, and among them were 
many men and women of noble families. During the last 
two years it had been a rule that no person above the age 
of twenty should be initiated ; for the societies sought people 
of such age as made them more liable to suffer deception 
and personal abuse. 

(Probably the writer has exaggerated the immoral side of 
these societies. However that may be, the government took 
effective measures for destroying them. But during the wars 
of Rome in the East, Greek and Oriental luxuries came into 
the city in spite of all that good men could do. Soldiers, 
returning froni Greece), first brought to Rome gilded couches, 
rich tapf'str^ with hangings, and other works of the loom; 
and what were then deemed magnificent kinds of furniture, 
single-footed tables and buffets. At entertainments likewise 
were introduced female players on the harp and timbrel, 
with buffoons for the diversion of the guests. Their meats 
began to be prepared with greater care and cost ; the cook, 
whom the ancients considered the meanest of their slaves 
in both estimation and use, became highly valuable, and what 
was considered a servile office began to be looked upon as 
an art. 

(Although the Romans adopted the luxuries of the East, 
their taste remained coarse ; they took no pleasure in artistic 
musical entertainments, but preferred the noise and con- 
fusion of mock battles. For instance) Lucius Anicius, who 



Rome, p. 148 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 347. 



(Mechanical 
devices for 
causing per- 
sons to disap- 
pear from tlie 
meetings.) 



Increasing 
luxury. 



Livyxxxix. 6. 



Artistic 
taste. 



140 Government and Character 

had been praetor and had gained a victory over the Illyrians, 
returned to Rome with their king Genthius and his children 
as prisoners. While celebrating his triumph, Anicius did a 
very ridiculous thing. He sent for the most famous artists 
from Greece, and after building an immense theatre in the 
Circus, he brought all the flute-players on the stage to- 
gether . . . the most celebrated of the day. He placed 
them on the stage with the chorus, and bade them all play 
at once. 

But when they struck up the tune accompanied by appro- 
priate movements, he sent to them to say that they were not 
playing well, and must put more excitement into it. At first 
they did not know what to make of this order, until one of 
the lictors showed them that they must form themselves into 
two companies and facing round, advance against each other 
as though in battle. The flute-players caught the idea at 
once, and adopting a motion suitable to their own wild 
strains, produced a scene of utter confusion. 

They made the middle group of the chorus face round 
upon the two extreme groups ; and blowing with inconceiv- 
able violence and discordance, the flute-players led these 
groups against each other. Meanwhile with violent stamp- 
ing that shook the stage, the members of the chorus rushed 
against those who were opposite, and then faced round and 
retired. But when one of the chorus, with dress girt up, 
turned round on the spur of the moment and raised his 
hands, like a boxer, in the face of the flute-player who was 
approaching, then the spectators clapped their hands and 
cheered loudly. 

While this sort of sham fight was going on, two dancers 
were brought into the orchestra to the sound of music ; and 
four boxers, accompanied by trumpeters and clarion players, 
mounted the stage. The effect of these various contests all 
going on together was indescribable. But if I should speak 
about their tragic actors, some wouid think I was merely 
jesting. 



An Eminent Roman 



141 



SciPio Africanus 



(In the whole period of the Punic wars the most eminent 
Roman was Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the con- 
queror of Hannibal.) That Scipio was beneficent and 
high-minded is acknowledged ; but that he was acute, 
sober, and earnest in the pursuit of his aims no one will 
admit, except those who have lived with him and have seen 
his character, so to speak, in broad daylight. Such a one 
was Gaius LkHus, who took part in everything Scipio did or 
said from boyhood to the day of his death ; and Laelius it 
was who convinced me of this truth, because what he said 
appeared to me to be likely in itself and in harmony with 
the achievements of Scipio. 

L?elius told me that Publius achieved his first brilliant ex- 
ploit when Scipio the father fought the cavalry engagement 
with Hannibal near the Po. The young man was then, as 
it seems, eighteen years of age and on his first campaign. 
His father had given him a squadron of picked cavalry for 
his protection ; but when in the course of the battle he saw 
his father surrounded by the enemy, with only two or three 
horsemen near him, and dangerously wounded, he first 
tried to cheer on his own squadron to go to the father's 
assistance, but when he found his troops cowed by the 
numbers of the surrounding enemy, it seems that he 
plunged by himself with reckless courage into the midst 
of the enemy, whereupon his comrades, too, were forced 
to charge, so that the enemy were overawed and opened 
their ranks to let the Romans pass ; and Publius the Elder, 
thus unexpectedly saved, was the first, in the hearing of the 
whole army, to address his son as his preserver. Gaining a 
reputation for bravery by this exploit, Scipio ever afterward 
freely exposed himself to every sort of personal danger, 
whenever his country rested her hope of safety on him. 
And this is not the conduct of a general who trusts to luck, 
but of one who has a clear head. 



Publius Cor- 
nelius Scipio 
Africanus. 

Polybius X. 3. 



His first ex- 
ploit. 

Rome, p. 107 ; 
Aticieiit His- 
tory, p. 322. 



142 Government and Character 



Afterward his elder brother Lucius was a candidate for 
the aedileship, which is about the most honorable office 
open to a young man at Rome. As it was customary for 
two patricians to be appointed, and as there were many 
candidates, for some time he did not venture to stand for 
the same office as his brother. But when the day of elec- 
tion drew near, he inferred from the demeanor of the 
people that his brother would easily obtain the office ; and 
observing that his own popularity with the multitude was 
very great, he made up his mind that his brother would be 
successful if only they both worked together as candi- 
dates. He resolved therefore upon the following plan of 
action. 

His mother was going round to the temples and sacri- 
ficing to the gods in behalf of his brother, and was 
altogether in a state of anxiety as to the result. She was 
the only parent whose wishes he had to consult ; for his 
father was then on a voyage to Iberia, having been ap- 
pointed to command in a war there. The young man 
therefore said to his mother that he had seen the same 
dream twice, — "I thought I was coming home from the 
Forum after being elected a^dile with my brother, and you 
met us at the door and threw your anns around us and 
kissed us." Scipio's mother with true womanly feeling 
exclaimed, " Oh that I might see that day ! " He replied, 
"Do you wish us to try?" Upon her assenting under the 
impression that he would not venture, but was only jesting 
on the spur of the moment — for of course he was quite a 
young man — he begged her to prepare him at once a 
white toga, such as is customary for candidates to wear. 

His mother thought no more about it ; but Publius in his 
white toga went to the Forum before she was awake. His 
boldness as well as his earlier popularity won him a brilHant 
reception from the people ; and when he advanced to the 
spot assigned for candidates, and took his place by the side 
of his brother, the people not only invested him with the 



A Young Proconsul 



143 



office, but his brother also for his sake ; and both brothers 
returned home sediles elect. 

When the news was brought suddenly to their mother, she 
rushed in the utmost delight to meet them at the door, and 
kissed the young men in an ecstasy of joy. All accordingly 
who had heard of the dream believed that Publius had con- 
versed with the g.:)ds, not merely in his sleep but rather in a 
waking vision and by day. In point of fact there was no 
dream at all ; Scipio was kind, open-hearted, and courteous, 
and by these means had won the favor of the multitude. 

A day was fixed accordingly for choosing a general for Elected pro- 
Spain. As nobody offered himself, the alarm was greatly ^^^^ 

took possession of the 



increased, and a gloomy silence took possession 
assembly. Finally Publius Cornelius Scipio, — son of that 
Publius Cornelius who had lost his life in Spain, — still a 
young man only twenty-four years of age, but reputed dis- 
creet and high-minded, advanced and made an impressive 
discourse concerning his father and uncle, and after lament- 
ing their fate, said that he was the only member of the 
family left to be the avenger of his kinsmen and of his 
country. He spoke copiously and vehemently, like one 
inspired, promising to subdue not only Spain but Carthage 
and Africa in addition. To many this seemed like youthful 
boasting, but he revived the spirits of his hearers ; for those 
who are cast down are cheered by promises. They chose 
him general in the expectation that he would do something 
worthy of his high spirit. The older men said that this was 
not high spirit but foolhardiness. 

When Scipio heard this gossip, he called the assembly 
together again, and repeated what he had said before, 
declaring that his youth would be no impediment ; but he 
added that if any of his elders wished to assume the task, 
he would willingly yield it to them. When nobody offered 
to take it, they praised and admired him still more. He set 
forth with ten thousand foot and five hundred horse; for 
they did not allow him to take a larger force while Hannibal 



Appian, 
Mars in 
Spain, 18. 



(This is not 
strictly true.) 



/ 



144 Government and Character 

was ravaging Italy. He received money and apparatus of 
various kinds and twenty-eight war-ships, with which he pro- 
ceeded to Spain. 

SCIPIO ^MILIANUS 



Publius Cor- 
nelius Scipio 
iEmilianus. 

Polybius 
xxxii. 9. 



As the course of my narrative and the events of the time 
have drawn our attention to the family of the Scipios, I 
wish to carry out fully for the sake of students what was left 
as a mere promise in my previous book. I promised then 
that I would explain the origin, the rise, and the unusually 
early glory of the reputation of Scipio (^mihanus), and 
also how it came about that Polybius became so attached to 
him and so intimate with him, that the fame of their friend- 
ship and constant companionship was not merely confined 
to Italy and Greece, but became known also to more remote 
nations. The acquaintance began in a loan of some books 
and a conversation about them. But as the intimacy went 
on, and the Achaean hostages were being distributed among 
Rome, p. 147. the various cities, Fabius and Scipio, the sons of Lucius 
^milius Paulus, exerted all their influence with the praetor 
that Polybius might be allowed to remain in Rome. This 
was granted ; and the intimacy was becoming more and 
more close when the following incident occurred. 

One day when all three were coming out of the house of 
Fabius, it happened that Fabius left them to go to the 
Forum, and that Polybius went in another direction with 
Scipio. As they were walking along, Scipio in a quiet and 
subdued voice and with the blood mounting to his cheeks 
asked : 

" Why is it, Polybius, that though I and ray brother eat 
at the same table, you address all your questions and ex- 
planations to him, and pass me over altogether? Of course 
you too have the same opinion of me as I hear the rest of 
the city has. For I am considered by everybody, I hear, to 
be a mild weak person, and far removed from the true 
Roman character and habits, because I do not care for 



His confes- 
sion to 
Polybius. 



A Youth and his Teacher 145 



pleading in the law courts. And they say the family I came 
of requires a different kind of representative, and not the 
sort that I am. That is what annoys me most." 

Polybius was taken aback by the young man's speech, — 
for he was only eighteen, — and said : 

" In heaven's name, Scipio, don't say such things, or take 
into your head such an idea. It is not from any want of 
appreciation of you, or from any intention of shghting you, 
that I have acted in this way, far from it ! It is merely 
because your brother is the elder that I begin and end my 
remarks with him, and address my explanations and coun- 
sels to him, in the belief that you share the same opinions. 

" I am delighted, however, to hear you say now that you 
appear to yourself to be somewhat less spirited than is be- 
coming to members of your family ; for you show by this 
remark that you have a really high spirit, and I should gladly 
devote myself to helping you to speak and act in a way 
worthy of your ancestors. 

"As for learning, to which I see you and your brother 
devoting yourselves at present with so much earnestness and 
zeal, you will find plenty of people to help you both ; for I 
see that a large number of such men from Greece are now 
finding their way into Rome. But as to points which you 
say are just now vexing you, I think you will not find any one 
more fitted to support and assist you than myself." 

While Polybius was still speaking, the young man seized 
his right hand with both of his, and pressing it warmly, 
said : 

" Oh that I might see the day on which you would devote 
your first attention to me, and join your life with mine. 
From that moment I shall think myself worthy both of my 
family and of my ancestors." 

Polybius was partly delighted at the sight of the young 
man's enthusiasm and affection, and partly embarrassed by 
the thought of the high position of the family and the wealth 
of its members. From the hour of this mutual confidence, 



Polybius 
becomes his 
friend and 
adviser. 

Polybius 
xxxii. 10. 



The inspira- 
tion of 
Scipio's life. 



146 Government and Character 



His pure 
character. 

Polybius 
xxxii. II. 



Rome, p. 121 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 331. 



His 

generosity. 

Polybius 
xxxii. 12. 



however, the young man never left the side of Polybius, but 
regarded his society as his first and dearest object. 

From that time forward they continually gave each other 
practical proof of an affection which recalled the relationship 
of father and son, or of kinsmen of the same blood. The 
first impulse and ambition of a noble kind with which he 
was inspired was the desire to maintain a character for 
chastity, and to be superior to the standard observed in that 
respect among his contemporaries. This was a glory which, 
great and difficult as it generally is, was not hard to gain at 
that period in Rome, owing to the general deterioration of 
morals. . . . 

This dissoluteness, as it were, burst into a flame at this 
period : in the first place, from the prevalent idea that, owing 
to the destruction of the Macedonian monarchy, they had 
now secured universal dominion beyond dispute ; and in the 
second place, from the immense difference made both in 
private wealth and in splendor by the importation of the riches 
of Macedonia into Rome. 

Scipio, however, set his heart on a different path in Hfe ; 
and by a steady resistance to his appetites, and by conform- 
ing his whole conduct to a consistent and unchanging stand- 
ard, in about five years after this conversation secured 
a general recognition of his character for goodness and 
purity. 

His next object was to cultivate lofty sentiments in regard 
to money, and to maintain a higher standard of generosity 
than other people. In this respect he had an excellent 
start in his association with his own father — Lucius ^milius ; 
but he had also good natural impulses toward the right ; and 
chance contributed much to his success in this particular 
aim. For he first lost his adoptive father's mother, who was 
the sister of his own father Lucius, and wife of his adoptive 
grandfather, Scipio the Great. She left a large fortune, to 
which he was heir, and which afforded him the first oppor- 
tunity of giving proof of his principles. Emilia, for that was 



Unlike the Romans 



H7 



this lady's name, was accustomed to attend the women's 
processions in great state, as one who shared in the hfe 
and high fortune of Scipio. For besides the magnificence 
of her dress and carriage, the baskets, cups, and such uten- 
sils for the sacrifice, which were carried in her train on great 
occasions, were all of silver and gold ; and the number of 
maid-servants and other domestics that made up her train 
was in proportion to this splendor. 

All this establishment, immediately after Emilia's funeral. The 
Scipio presented to his own mother, who had long before ^ggg iiim^ 
been divorced by his father Lucius, and was badly off, con- 
sidering the splendor of her birth. She had therefore in 
previous years refrained from taking part in grand public 
processions ; but now as there chanced to be an im- 
portant state sacrifice, she appeared surrounded with all the 
splendor and wealth which had once been Emilia's, using 
among other things the same pair of mules, drivers, and 
carriage. 

The ladies therefore who saw it were much impressed by 
the kindness and liberality of Scipio, and all raised their 
hands to heaven and prayed for blessings upon him. This 
act would indeed have been thought honorable elsewhere, 
but at Rome it was quite astonishing ; for there no one ever 
thinks of giving any of his private property to any one if he 
can help it. This was the beginning of Scipio's reputation 
for nobility of character, and it spread very widely ; for 
women are talkative and prone to exaggeration when they 
feel warmly. 

The next instance was his conduct to the daughters of 
the great Scipio, sisters to his adoptive father. When he 
took the inheritance, he was bound to pay them their por- 
tion. For their father had agreed to give each of his two 
daughters a marriage portion of fifty talents. Half this 
sum their mother paid down at once to their husbands, but 
left the other half undischarged when she died. Now the 
Roman law enjoins the payment of money due women as 



His kindness 
to his aunts. 

Polybius 
xxxii. 13. 



148 Government and Character 



A scene at 
the bank. 



Different 
from other 
Romans. 



dowry in three annual instalments, the personal outfit hav- 
ing been first paid within ten months according to custom. 

But Scipio instructed his banker to pay each the twenty- 
five talents at once, within the ten months. When therefore 
Tiberius Gracchus and Scipio Nasica, the husbands of these 
ladies, called on the banker at the expiration of the ten 
months, and asked whether Scipio had given him any in- 
structions as to the money, he told them they might have 
it at once, and proceeded to enter the transfer of twenty- 
five talents to each. They then said he had made a mis- 
take, for they had no claim on the whole as yet, but only 
on a third according to law ; and when the banker answered 
that such were his instructions from Scipio, they could not 
believe him, and went to call on the young man, supposing 
him to have made a mistake. And indeed their feelings 
were natural ; for at Rome, so far from paying fifty talents 
three years in advance, no one will pay a single talent before 
the appointed day ; so excessively particular are they about 
money, and so profitable do they consider time. 

When they reached Scipio, however, and asked him what 
instructions he had given his banker, he replied, " To pay 
both sisters the whole sum due them." They told him he 
had made a mistake, and with a show of friendly regard, 
pointed out to him that according to law he had the use 
of the money for a considerable time longer. But Scipio 
replied that he was quite aware of that, but that close 
reckoning and legal exactness were for strangers; with re- 
lations and friends he would do his best to behave straight- 
forwardly and liberally. He therefore bade them draw on 
the banker for the whole sum. When Tiberius and Nasica 
heard this, they returned home in silence, quite confounded 
at the generosity of Scipio, and accusing themselves of 
meanness, though they were men of as high character as 
any at Rome, . . . 

With such recommendations dating from his earliest 
years, Publius Scipio maintained the reputation for high 



Gracious and Manly 



149 



morality and good principles which he had won by the 
expenditure of perhaps sixty talents (on various relatives), 
for that was the sum which he bestowed from his own prop- 
erty. And this reputation for goodness did not depend so 
much on the amount of the money, as on the seasonable- 
ness of the gift and the graciousness with which it was 
bestowed. 

By his strict purity, too, he not only saved his purse, but 
by refraining from many irregular pleasures he gained sound 
bodily health and a vigorous constitution, which accompanied 
him through the whole of his life, and repaid him with many 
pleasures and noble compensations for the immediate grati- 
fication from which he had abstained. 

Courage is the most important element of character for 
public life in every country, but especially in Rome. He 
was bound therefore to give all his most serious attention to 
it. In this respect also he was well seconded by fortune. 
For the Macedonian kings were very fond of hunting, and 
their people devoted the most suitable districts to the pres- 
ervation of game. These places were carefully guarded 
during all the war time, as they had been before, and yet 
were not hunted the whole of the four years owing to the 
public disturbance, so that they became full of all kinds of 
animals. But after the war Lucius ^milius, thinking that 
hunting was the best training for body and courage his 
young soldiers could have, put the royal huntsmen under 
the charge of Scipio, and gave him entire authority over all 
matters connected with the hunting. 

Scipio accepted the duty, and looking upon himself as in 
a sort of royal position, devoted his whole time to this busi- 
ness as long as the army remained in Macedonia after the 
battle of Pydna. As he then had ample opportunity for 
this kind of pursuit, and was in the very prime of his youth 
and naturally disposed to such recreation, the taste for hunt- 
ing which he acquired became permanent. 

When he returned to Rome, accordingly, and found his 



His 

gracious- 
ness. 

Polybius 
xxxii. 14. 



His love of 
hunting. 

Polybius 
xxxii. 15. 



Hunting is 
more manly 
than litiga- 
tion. 

Rome, p. 121 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 33r. 



150 Government and Character 

taste supported by a corresponding enthusiasm on the part 
of Polybius, the time that other young men spent in law 
courts and in formal visits, haunting the Forum and en- 
deavoring thereby to ingratiate themselves with the people, 
Scipio devoted to hunting ; and by continually displaying 
brilliant and memorable acts of prowess, won a greater 
reputation than others, whose only chance of gaining credit 
was inflicting some damage on one of their fellow- citizens, 
— for that was the usual result of these law proceedings. 

Scipio, on the other hand, without inflicting annoyance on 
any one, gained a popular reputation for manly courage, 
rivalling eloquence by action. The result was that in a 
short time he obtained a more decided superiority over his 
contemporaries than any other Roman within our memory. 
This he accompHshed in spite of the fact that he struck out 
a path for his ambition which, according to Roman customs 
and ideas, was quite different from that of others. 

Cato the Censor 



Marcus Por- 
cius Cato. 

Plutarch, 
Cato, I. 



Marcus Porcius Cato (another eminent man of the age) 
was born at Tusculum and brought up on a farm belonging 
to his father in the Sabine country. There he lived till he 
began to take part in war and politics. In appearance he 
was — 

Red-haired, gray-eyed, and savage-tusked as well. 



Plutarch 



His life in The estate adjoining that of Cato belonged to one of the 

the country, .^q^'^ powerful and highly born patricians of Rome, — Va- 
lerius Flaccus, a man who had a keen eye for rising merit, 
and generously fostered it till it received public recognition. 
This man heard of Cato's life from his servants, who told 
how their master would go to the court early in the morn- 
ing and plead the causes of all who required his services, and 
then on returning to his farm would work with his servants, 
in winter wearing a coarse coat without sleeves, in summer 



Roman Frugality 



151 



nothing but his tunic. They added that he used to sit at 
meals with them and eat the same loaf and drink the same 



Many other stories of his goodness, simplicity, and sen- 
tentious remarks were told Valerius, who became interested 
in his neighbor, and invited him to dinner. They grew 
intimate ; and Valerius, noticing his quiet and frank dispo- 
sition, and thinking him like a plant that requires careful 
treatment and an extensive space in which to develop, en- 
couraged and urged him to take part in political hfe at Rome. 

On going to Rome, he at once gained admirers by his 
able pleadings in the law courts, while he was advanced to 
important positions through Valerius. He was first ap- 
pointed military tribune and then quaestor. Afterward he 
became so distinguished as to be able to compete with Va- 
lerius himself for the highest offices in the state. They were 
together elected consuls, and still later censors. Of the 
older Romans, Cato attached himself especially to Fabius 
Maximus, a man of the greatest renown and influence, 
although it was his disposition and mode of hfe which Cato 
desired most to imitate. He did not hesitate, therefore, to 
oppose Scipio the Great, who was then a young man but a 
rival and opponent of Fabius. 

He himself tells us that he never wore a garment worth 
more than a hundred drachmas ; that when he was gen- 
eral and consul he still drank the same wine as his servants ; 
that his dinner never cost him more than thirty' asses in 
the market ; and that he indulged himself to this extent solely 
for the good of the state, that he might be strong and able 
to serve his country in the field. 

These habits some ascribed to narrowness of mind, while 
some thought he carried parsimony to excess in order by 
his example to reform and restrain others. Be this as it 
may, I for my part consider that his conduct in treating his 
slaves like beasts of burden, and selling them when old and 
worn out, was the mark of an excessively harsh disposition, 



Cato at 
Rome. 



Rome,\t. no; 
Ancient His- 
toiy, p. 324. 



Clothing and 
food. 

Plutarch, 
Cato, 4. 






152 



Government and Character 



His maxims. 

Plutarch, 
Caio, 8. 



(Eumenes, 
King of Per- 
ganium, Asia 
Minor.) 






which disregards the claims of our common human nature, 
and merely considers the question of profit and loss. 

(Cato was famous for his pithy sayings.) Once when he 
wished to restrain the Romans from distributing a large 
quantity of corn as a largess to the people, he thus began 
his speech : 

" It is difficult, fellow-citizens, to make the stomach hear 
reason, because it has no ears." 

He said, too, 

" The Romans are like sheep, who never form opinions 
of their own, but follow where others lead them." 

With regard to female influence, he once said, 

" All mankind rule their wives, we rule all mankind, and 
our wives rule us." 

He used to beg of the young men, 

" If we have become great by virtue and self-restraint, 
do not degenerate. If, on the other hand, our empire has 
been won by immorality and vice, reform yourselves ; for 
we have now become so great as not to need any further 
assistance from vices." 

When a certain man sold his ancestral estate, which was 
situated by the seashore, Cato pretended to admire him as 
more powerful than the sea itself, " for this man," he said, 
"has drunk up the fields which the sea itself could not 
swallow." 

When King Eumenes came to Rome, the senate received 
him with especial honors, and he was courted and run after. 
Cato, however, held himself aloof and would not go near 
him and when some one said, " But he is an excellent man 
and a good friend to Rome," he answered : 

" It may be so, but a king is by nature an animal that 
lives on human flesh." 

" None of those who have borne the title of king are to be 
compared with Epaminondas, or Pericles, or Themistocles, 
or with Manius Curius, or Hamilcar Barca." 

"Wise men," he said, "gain more advantage from fools 



Wise Saws 



153 



than fools from wise men ; for wise men avoid the errors of 
fools, but fools cannot imitate the example of wise men." 

" I like young men to have red cheeks rather than pale 
ones. I care not for a soldier who uses his hands while 
marching and his feet while fighting, or for one who snores 
louder in bed than he shouts in battle." 

" I cannot live with a man whose palate is more sensitive 
than his heart." This he said when an epicure wished to 
become his friend. 

" The soul of a lover inhabits the body of his beloved." 

" In my whole Hfe I repent of three things only : first, 
that I have trusted a woman with a secret ; secondly, that I 
have gone by water when I might have gone by land ; thirdly, 
that I have passed one day without having made my will." 

To an old man who was acting wrongly he said : 

" My good sir, old age is ugly enough without your 
adding to it the deformity of wickedness." 

When a certain tribune, who was suspected of being a 
poisoner, was trying to carry a bad law, Cato remarked : 

"Young man, I do not know which is the worse for us, to 
drink what you mix or to enact what you propose." 

Once when he was abused by a man of vicious life, he 
answered : 

" We are not contending on equal terms ; you are accus- 
tomed to hearing and using bad language, whereas I am 
unused to hearing it and unwilling to use it." 

In his political life he seems to have thought one of his 
most important duties to be the impeachment of bad citi- 
zens. ... He himself is said to have been defendant in 
nearly fifty cases, the last of which was tried when he was 
eighty-six years old. On this occasion he uttered that well 
known saying, " It is hard for a man who has lived in one 
generation to be obUged to defend himself before another." 
And this was not the end of his litigations ; for four years later, 
at the age of ninety, he impeached Servius Galba. In fact 
his Hfe, like that of Nestor, reached through three generations. 



Plutarch, 
Cato, 9. 



His political 
life. 

Plutarch, 
Cato, 15. 



154 Government and Character 



Ilis censor- 
ship. 

Plutarch, 
Cato, i8. 



P. 52. 



Opposition 
to him. 

Plutarch, 
Cato, 19. 



m 



Family 

affairs. 

Plutarch, 
Cato, 20, 



But what caused the greatest dissatisfaction were the 
restrictions which he as censor imposed on luxury. This 
vice he could not attack openly, because it had taken such 
deep root among the people ; but he caused all clothes, car- 
riages, women's ornaments, and furniture which exceeded 
fifteen hundred drachmas in value to be rated at ten times 
their value and taxed accordingly ; for he thought that those 
who possessed the most valuable property ought to contribute 
most largely to the revenues of the state. A tax of but three 
copper asses for every thousand, on the other hand, he im- 
posed upon all the citizens, that those who were burdened 
with an excessive taxation on luxuries, when they saw persons 
of frugal and simple habits paying so small a tax on the same 
income, might cease from their extravagance. This measure 
gained him the hatred of those who were taxed so heavily 
for their luxuries. 

Far from paying attention to those who blamed his policy, 
he proceeded to still severer measures. He cut off the 
water-pipes, by which water was conveyed from the public 
fountains into private houses and gardens, and destroyed all 
houses which encroached upon public streets, lowered the 
price of contracts for pubhc works, and farmed out the public 
revenues for the highest possible sums. All this made him 
still more unpopular. Titus Flamininus attacked him, and 
prevailed upon the senate to annul the contracts which he 
had made for the building of temples and for the construc- 
tion of public works, on the ground that they were dis- 
advantageous to the state. Furthermore they encouraged 
the boldest of the tribunes to prosecute him before the 
people and to fine him two talents. Great opposition, too, 
was made to the basilica, or public hall, which he built at 
the public expense in the Forum below the senate- house, 
and which was called the Basilica Porcia. 

A good father and a good husband, he was in private Ufe 
an economist of no ordinary kind, for he did not despise 
money-making or regard it as unworthy of his ability. 



A Prophecy 



^55 



Plutarch, 
Caio, 26. 



He married a wife who was not rich, but well-born ; for 
though all classes might possess equal good sense, yet a 
woman of noble birth he thought would be more ashamed 
of doing wrong, and therefore more likely to encourage her 
husband to do right. He used to say that a man who beats 
his wife or his children lays sacrilegious hands on the holiest 
of things. 

The last of his political acts was the destruction of Car- 
thage. This was actually brought to pass by Scipio the 
Younger, but it was chiefly owing to the counsels of Cato 
that the war was undertaken. 

Immediately after the opening of the war he died. A His death, 
prophecy had come to his notice that it would be finished 
by a young man then military tribune, who had given re- 
markable proofs of courage and generalship. On hearing 
of his exploits, Cato is said to have quoted from Homer — 

He alone has solid wisdom, 
All the rest are shadows vain. 

This opinion Scipio soon confirmed by his deeds. 

Cato left one son, named Salonius, and one grandson, the 
child of his eldest son, who was dead. Salonius died during 
his prsetorship, but his son Marcus became consul. This 
man was the grandfather of Cato the philosopher, who was 
one of the foremost men of his day in courage and ability. 

(Cato the Elder was the author of several works, among 
them a Treatise on Agriculture. Below are two extracts 
from this treatise ; they explain the duties of an overseer of 
a country estate and the duties of the housekeeper.) 

The following are the duties of the overseer. He should 
keep good discipline, and should observe the festivals. He 
should settle the disputes of the slaves, and if any one does ^^^^ ^ 
wrong, he should inflict punishment according to the amount culture, 5 
of the wrong. He should see that no harm befalls the slave 
family, that no one of them suffers cold or hunger. By 
giving the slaves plenty of work he will the more easily 



P. 198. 



The duties 
of an over- 
seer. 

rt- 



156 Government and Character 

keep them from mischief. . . . The overseer should not 
be a gadabout ; he should always be sober and should go 
out nowhere to dinner. He should keep the slaves at 
work and see that all the orders of the master are carried 
out. 

He should not presume to know more than his master. 
The friends of the master he should hold as his friends, and 
should hearken to his orders. He should offer no sacrifice 
except to the cross-road gods at the cross-roads and to the 
household god at the hearth. Without his master's order 
he should trust no one, but should collect his master's 
loans. Seed for sowing, food, grain, wine, and oil he should 
lend to no one. He should have two or three neighbor 
families with whom he may borrow and lend, but none 
besides. 

He should frequently settle accounts with his master. A 
hired mechanic or cultivator he should not keep more than 
a day. He should be unwilling to buy anything without the 
knowledge of his master or to conceal anything from his 
master. He should keep no parasite. He should consult 
no seer, augur, prophet, or Chaldean soothsayer. . . . He 
should be the first to rise from bed and the last to retire. 
Before retiring he should see that the house is locked, and 
that every one is abed in his place, and that the cattle have 
their fodder. 

He should supervise everything that ought to be done on 
the farm, and in the way the master has directed him. He 
should buy or provide whatever is necessary, and should 
supervise the distribution of food and clothing among the 
members of the slave family; and he should be obedient 
to his master's commands. Furthermore he should instruct 
the housekeeper to prepare and make ready everything 
needful for the master's coming (into the country), and 
should see that the housekeeper attends to her duties. 

If the master has given you, the overseer, a wife, be 
satisfied with her. Make her respect you. Do not allow 



The Housekeeper 157 

her to be extravagant. She should have as Uttle as possible The duties 
to do with the neighbor women and should not receive them keeper^""^^ 
at the house. She should not go out anywhere to dinner or .^j^^ house- 
be a gadabout. She should not herself perform sacrifices keeper was 
or bid any one do it for her without an order from her overseer's^ 
master or mistress.^ Let her understand that the master ^^i^^.) 
sacrifices for the entire family. 

She should be neat and should keep the farmhouse cleanly 
swept. Every night before going to bed she should clean 
the hearth and brush it off all around. On the calends, ides, 
nones,^ and all festal days, she shall place a wreath on the 
hearth and shall worship the household god according to her 
means and ability. 

She must prepare food for yourself and the household, and Her recipes, 
have it cooked. She must keep a great many hens and eggs. 
She must have dried pears, sorb-apples, figs, and dried grapes. 
The sorb-apples she should preserve in boiled wine, and the 
figs and grapes in large jars ; the sparrow-apples and grapes 
in wine jars and pots covered with earth ; her fresh nuts from 
Prseneste she should also keep in a jar covered with earth. 
Her Campanian apples she should store in large jars, and all 
the other fruits which should be stored up she should gather 
carefully every year. She must know how to grind good meal 
and fine flour. 

1 In other words, she should understand that a person of her inferior 
rank ought not to come into this direct relation with the gods ; and she 
should not waste her master's provisions. 

2 " In March, July, October, May, 
The Ides are on the fifteenth day. 
The Nones the seventh ; but all besides 
Have two less days for Nones and Ides." 

— Gildersleeve and Lodge, Latin Grammar, p. 491. 
For the calends, see p. 138. 



158 Government and Character 



STUDIES 

1. In the time of the Punic Wars what kind of government had 
Rome ? What feature of the government was monarchical (or des- 
potic) ? What feature was aristocratic? What feature was democratic ? 

2. What were the powers and duties of the consuls ? of the senate ? 
of the people ? How did these three " estates " depend upon and 
limit one another ? Describe the harmony of the constitution. 

3. What encouragements did the government offer to bravery ? 
Describe the masks and the funeral oration. What was the effect of 
these customs on character ? 

4. What was the practical value of religion to the Romans ? Com- 
pare the Romans (i) with the Carthaginians (see ch. v), and (2) with 
the Greeks in honesty. Describe a religious vow. 

5. What caused an increase of superstition ? Wha,t attempts did 
the government make to restrain it ? Describe the Bacchantes. 

6. What new luxuries came to Rome from the East ? From the 
story of the flute-players what should you infer as to the artistic taste of 
the Romans ? How did they compare in this respect with the Greeks ? 

7. Describe the character of Scipio Africanus. What were his ad- 
mirable traits ? 

8. Describe the character of Scipio ^milianus. How did he differ 
from other Romans ? Compare him with the educated gentleman of 
the present. How did Polybius influence him ? Who tells this story ? 

9. Give an account of Cato the Censor, and describe his character. 
Compare him with the Scipios. Which of the three was the most 
thoroughly Roman ? 

10. What do the extracts from Cato's Agriculture teach regarding 
a country estate ? 

11. Collect all the material on the manners, customs, and character 
of the Romans in chs. v, vi^and in the corresponding chapters of the 
Home (or Ancient History^, and write a paper on the subject with 
reference to the period of the Punic Wars. 



CHAPTER VII 



The Revolution 



— ( I ) The Gracchi, Marius, 
and Sulla 



Third Period of the Republic — First Epoch (133-79 b.c.) 

Tiberius and Gains Gracchus were the sons of that Tibe- 
rius Gracchus who was censor and twice consul and who 
celebrated two triumphs. Their father was still more dis- 
tinguished, however, by his personal character, to which he 
owed the honor of having for his wife Cornelia, the daughter 
of Scipio, the conqueror of Hannibal. This lady he married 
after Scipio's death, though Tiberius had not been a friend 
of her father, but rather a political opponent. 

A story is told that Tiberius, the father, once caught a 
couple of snakes in his bed, and the soothsayers after con- 
sulting on the matter told him not to kill both nor let both 
go. They said if the male were killed, the death of Tiberius 
would follow ; and if the female were killed, Cornelia would 
die. Now Tiberius, who loved his wife and thought it more 
suitable for him to die first, as he was an elderly man and 
his wife still }oung, killed the male snake and let the female 
go. No long time afterward he died, leaving twelve children. 

Cornelia, their mother, undertook the care of the family 
and of her husband's property. She showed herself so 
prudent, so fond of her children, and so noble a character 
that people thought Tiberius did well in dying in place of 
such a wife. Though Ptolemy, king of Egypt, afterward in- 
vited her to share his crown and wooed her for his wife, she 

159 



Tiberius and 
Gaius Grac- 
chus. 
Cf. p. 2. 



Plutarch, 
Tiberius 
Gracchus, I. 

The death of 
their father. 



Their 
mother. 



] bo 



The Revolution 



■: , ' ocd the offer and continued a widow. All her children 
aied before her except one daughter, who married the 
younger Scipio (^milianus), and two sons, Tiberius and 
Gains, who were brought up by their mother so carefully 
that they became beyond dispute the most accomplished of 
Roman youths. This superiority they owed perhaps more 
to their excellent education than even to their natural good 
qualities. 

In character, in the expression of his face, and in his 
movements Tiberius was mild and sedate ; Gaius was ani- 
mated and impetuous. When Tiberius addressed the people, 
he would stand composedly in one spot, but Gaius was the 
first Roman to move about the rostra and pull his toga from 
his shoulder while speaking. The manner of Gaius was awe- 
inspiring and vehement ; that of Tiberius was more pleasing 
and more calculated to stir the sympathies. The language 
of Tiberius was pure and nicely elaborated ; that of Gaius 
was copious and persuasive. 

Such were the contrasts between the two brothers ; but in 
courage against the enemy, in justice to the subject nations, 
in the careful discharge of pubhc duties, and in self-control, 
they were alike. Tiberius was the elder by nine years, — 
a circumstance which caused their political careers to be 
separated by an interval, and which did much to bring about 
the failure of their measures ; for not rising to eminence at 
the same time, they could not unite their strength in one 
irresistible effort. 

Tiberius Gracchus 



While Scipio (^milianus, his brother-in-law,) was warring 
against Numantia, Tiberius began his legislation, to which he 
was led by the following motives. 

Of the land acquired by war the Romans (i) assigned 
the cultivated part forthwith to settlers or (2) leased or 
(3) sold it. Since they had no leisure immediately to allot 
the part which then lay desolated by war, — generally the 



Effects of Slavery 



i6i 



greater part, — (4) they made proclamation that in the 
meantime those who were wiUing to work it might do so 
on condition of rendering to the government a share of the 
yearly crops — a tenth of the grain and a fifth of the fruit. 
From those who kept flocks was required a share of the 
animals, both oxen and small cattle. They did these things 
in order to multiply the Italian race, which they considered 
the most laborious of peoples, that they might have plenty 
of allies at home. 

The result, however, was the very opposite of their desire. 
For the rich, getting possession of the greater part of the 
undistributed lands, and emboldened by the lapse of time 
to believe that they should never be dispossessed, added to 
their holdings the small farms of their poor neighbors partly 
by purchase and partly by force. In this way they came to 
cultivate vast tracts instead of single estates, using for the 
purpose slaves as laborers and herdsmen, lest free laborers 
should be drawn from their employment into the army. 

The ownership of slaves itself brought great gain from 
the large number of children, who multiplied because 
slaves were exempt from military service. Thus the power- 
ful men became enormously rich, and the race of slaves 
increased throughout the country, while the Italian people 
dwindled in numbers and strength, oppressed by penury, 
taxes, and military service. If they had any respite from 
these evils, they passed their time in idleness, because 
the land was held by the rich, who employed slaves instead 
of freemen as cultivators. 

In a certain book Gains recorded that as Tiberius, his 
brother, was passing through Etruria on his way to Numan- 
tia, he saw that the country was depopulated, and that the 
laborers and shepherds were foreign slaves and barbarians ; 
then for the first time Tiberius thought out those political 
measures which to the two brothers were the beginning of 
infinite calamities. But the energy and ambition of Tiberius 
were roused mainly by the people, who by writing on the 



How the 
Romans 
disposed of 
acquired 
land. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
I 7. 



How Tibe- 
rius became 
a reformer. 

Plutarch, 
Tiberius 
Gracchus, 8. 



l62 



The Revolution 



His agrarian 
law, 133 B.C. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
i. 9. 

Rome, p. 152 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 350. 



Opposition. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
i. 10. 



The poor 
support him. 



porticos, walls, and tombs, urged him to recover the public 
land for the poor. 

He brought forward a law which provided (i) that no one 
should hold more than five hundred jugera of the public land. 
But he added a provision to the former law, (2) that the sons 
of the present occupiers might each hold one-half that 
amount, and (3) that the remainder should be divided 
among the poor by triumvirs, who should be changed 
annually. 

This greatly disturbed the rich because, on account of the 
triumvirs, they could no longer disregard the law as they had 
done before ; nor could they buy the allotments of others, 
for Gracchus had provided against this by forbidding sales. 
Collecting in groups, they lamented, and accused the poor 
of appropriating the results of their tillage, their vineyards, 
and their dwellings. Some said they had paid the price of 
the land to their neighbors. Were they to lose the money 
with the land? Others said that the graves of their ancestors 
were in the ground which had been allotted to them in the 
division of their fathers' estates. Others declared that their 
wives' dowries had been expended on the estates, or that 
the land had been given to their own daughters as dowry. 
Money-lenders could show loans made on this security. All 
kinds of waiHng and expressions of indignation were heard 
at once. 

On the other side were heard the lamentations of the 
poor, — that they had been reduced from competence to 
extreme penury, and from that to childlessness because they 
were unable to rear their offspring. They recounted the 
military services they had rendered, by which this very land 
had been acquired, and were angry that they were robbed 
of their share of the common property. They reproached 
the rich for employing instead of citizens, mere slaves, who 
were always faithless and ill-tempered and for that reason un- 
serviceable in war. 

While these classes were lamenting, and accusing each 



An Obstinate Tribune 163 

other, many from the colonies and municipia, and all in fact 
who were interested in the lands and who were under similar 
fears, flocked in and took sides with the respective factions. 
Emboldened by numbers and exasperated against each 
other, they formed turbulent crowds, and waited for the vot- 
ing on the new law. Some tried by all means to prevent its 
enactment and others supported it in every possible way. 
In addition to personal interest, the spirit of rivalry spurred 
both sides in the preparations they were making for the day 
of the assembly. 

What Gracchus had in his mind in proposing the measure The object of 
was not wealth but an increase in the number of useful citi- ^ ^^' 
zens. Thoroughly inspired by the value of his plan, and avti^^Vars 
believing that nothing more advantageous or more admirable i- ii- 
could ever happen to Italy, he took no account of the diffi- 
culties in his way. . . . 

Marcus Octavius, another tribune, who had been induced fi>- 12. 
by the holders of these lands to interpose his veto, ordered 
the scribe to keep silence. Now among the Romans the 
tribune's veto always prevailed. Gracchus therefore re- 
proached him severely and adjourned the meeting to the 
following day. Then he stationed a sufficient guard as if 
to force Octavius against his will, and with threats ordered 
the scribe to read the proposed law to the multitude. 
He began to read but when Octavius again vetoed, he 
stopped. 

^ Then the tribunes fell to wrangling with each other, and 
a considerable tumult arose among the people. The lead- 
ing citizens besought the tribunes to submit their controversy 
to the senate for a decision. Gracchus seized on the sug- 
gestion, — for he believed that the law was acceptable to all 
well-disposed persons, — and hastened to the senate-house. 
As he had there only a few followers and was upbraided by 
the rich, he ran back to the Forum, and said he would take the 
vote of the assembly on the following day ; the question would 
be not only on the law but on the magistracy of Octavius, 



164 



The Revolution 



(Depositions 
were uncon- 
stitutional.) 



Deposition 
of Octavius. 



Plutarch, 

Tiberius 

Gracchus, 13. 

Tiberius 

seeks 

reelection. 

Plutarch, 
Tiberius 
Gracchus, 16, 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
i. IS- 



to determine whether a tribune who was acting con- 
trary to the people's interest could continue to hold his 
office. 

And so he did ; for when Octavius, nothing daunted, again 
interposed, Gracchus distributed the pebbles to take a vote 
on him first. When the first tribe voted to depose Octavius 
from his magistracy, Gracchus turned to him and begged 
him to desist from his veto. As he would not yield, the 
votes of the other tribes were taken. There were thirty-five 
tribes at this time. The seventeen which first voted, angrily 
sustained this motion. If the eighteenth should do the 
same, it would make a majority. Again did Gracchus, in 
the sight of the people, urgently importune Octavius in his 
present extreme danger not to prevent this most pious work, 
so useful to Italy, and not to frustrate the wishes so earnestly 
entertained by the people, whose desires he ought rather to 
share in his character of tribune, and not risk the loss of 
his office by public condemnation. After speaking thus, he 
called the gods to witness that he did not willingly do any 
despite to his colleague. But as Octavius was still unyield- 
ing, he went on to take the votes. Octavius was forthwith 
reduced to the rank of a private citizen and slunk away 
unobserved. 

The law concerning the land was immediately afterward 
carried. . . . 

Because of the threats and the combination of enemies, 
the friends of Tiberius thought he ought to be candidate for 
the tribunate for the next year ; and Tiberius attempted to 
strengthen his popularity by promising to carry new measures. 

(On the morning of the election) Gracchus assembled his 
partisans before daybreak, and communicated to them a 
sign to be given in case of a fight. He then took posses- 
sion of the temple on the Capitoline Hill, where the voting 
was to be. He himself occupied the middle of the 
assembly. As he was hindered by the other tribunes and 
by the rich, who would not allow the votes to be taken on 



Violence 



165 



the question, he gave the signal. There was a sudden shout 
from those who saw it, and violence was the result. 

Some partisans of Gracchus took position around him like Violence, 
a body-guard ; others, wresting the fasces from the hands 
of the lictors, broke them in pieces. They drove the rich 
from the assembly with such disorder and wounds that the 
tribunes fled from their places in terror, and the priests 
closed the doors of the temple. Many ran away pell-mell 
and scattered wild rumors. 

The enemies of Tiberius ran to the senate and reported Plutarch, 
that he was asking for a crown, and that his touching his head 



(the signal agreed upon) was a proof of it. Thereupon 
the whole body was greatly disturbed. Nasica entreated 
the consul to protect the state and put down the tyrant. 
The consul however answered mildly that he would not be 
the first to use violence, and that he would take no citizen's 
Hfe without a regular trial. " If, however," he continued, 
" the people come to an illegal vote at the instigation of 
Tiberius, I will not respect any such decision." 

Then Nasica springing up exclaimed, " Well then, if the 
consul betrays the state, let all who wish to maintain the 
laws follow me." As he uttered these words he drew his 
toga over his head and hastened to the Capitol. The other 
senators who followed him wrapped their togas about them 
with one hand, and pushed all the people they met out of 
their way, for from respect to their rank, no one opposed 
them ; but all taking to flight, trampled one another down. 

The followers of the senators had clubs and sticks which 
they had brought from home ; but the senators, seizing the 
fragments and legs of the benches which were broken by the 
people in their hurry to escape, made right for Tiberius and 
struck all who were in their way. The people were all put 
to flight or killed. As Tiberius was attempting to escape, 
some one laid hold of his dress, whereupon he dropped 
his toga and fled in his tunic ; but he stun:;bled over some 
persons who were lying on the ground, and was thrown 



Gracchus, 19. 



Tiberius is 
killed. 



i66 



The Revolution 



The blame is 
on the 
nobles. 

Plutarch, 
Tiberius 
Gracchus^ 20. 
(It is to be 
noted that 
the nobles 
were the first 
to resort to 
violence and 
bloodshed.) 



down. While he was trying to rise he received the first 
blow, as is universally admitted, from Pubhus Satyreius, one 
of his colleagues, who struck him on the head with the leg 
of a bench. Lucius Rufus claimed the credit of giving him 
the second blow, as if it were a thing to be proud of. Above 
three hundred persons were killed by sticks and stones, but 
none by the sword. 

On this occasion it is probable that Tiberius would have 
given way to persuasion without difficulty, if his assailants 
had not come to bloodshed and blows, for those about him 
were not above three thousand. But the combination against 
him seems to have been caused by the passion and hatred 
of the rich citizens rather than by what they alleged ; and 
their brutal and indecent treatment of his body is a proof 
of this. For they would not listen to his brother's request 
to take up the body and bury it by night, but it was thrown 
into the Tiber with the other bodies. And this was not all ; 
they banished some of his friends without trial and others 
they seized and put to death, among whom was Diophanes 
the orator. Gains Villius they shut up in a vessel with snakes 
and vipers, and thus caused his death. When Blossius of 
Cumas was brought before the consuls and questioned about 
what had passed, he admitted that he had done everything 
at the bidding of Tiberius. Nasica asked him, 

"What if Tiberius had told you to burn the Capitol?" 

" Tiberius would never have given such an order," was 
the reply. 

As the same question was often repeated and by several 
persons, he said : 

" If he had commanded me to burn the Capitol, it would 
have been a good deed for me to do : for Tiberius would 
not have given such an order, unless it were for the interest 
of the people." 

Blossius was set at liberty. 



Great Reforms Proposed 167 



Gaius Gracchus 



The common opinion is that Gaius was a pure demagogue 
and much more greedy of popular favor than Tiberius. But 
in fact the younger brother took part in public affairs through 
necessity rather than choice. Cicero the orator says that 
Gaius declined all offices and had determined to live in 
retirement, but that his brother appeared to him in a dream 
and said, " Gaius, why do you hesitate ? There is no escape 
— it is our fate to live and die for the people." 

On entering office (the tribunate) he soon made himself 
the first on the board, for he surpassed every Roman in 
eloquence, and his misfortunes gave him a license for speak- 
ing freely when lamenting the fate of his brother. 

Of the laws which he proposeti with a view to gaining the 
popular favor and to weakening the senate, one was for the 
establishment of colonies and for the distribution of public 
land among the poor. Another provided for supplying the 
soldiers with clothing at the public expense, without any 
deduction from their pay on this account ; the same law 
exempted youths under seventeen from being drafted for 
the army. A third favored the allies, and put the ItaHans 
on the same footing as the citizens with respect to the 
suffrage. Another, relating to grain, had for its object the 
lowering of the price for the poor. The last referred to 
the jurors, — a measure which most of all encroached on 
the privileges of the senate. 

The people not only passed the last-named measure, but 
empowered Gracchus to select from the knights those who 
were to act as jurors — a right which conferred on him a 
kind of monarchical authority, and even the senate now 
assented to the measures which he proposed in that body. 
All his plans, however, were honorable to the senate. Such, 
for instance, was the reasonable and just decree about 
the grain which Fabius the propraetor sent from Iberia. 
Gracchus induced the senate to sell the grain and return 



Gaius Grac- 
chus. 

Plutarch, 
Gaius Grac- 
chus, I. 



123 B.C. 
lb. 3. 

His laws. 

Plutarch, 
Gaius Grac- 
chus, 5. 



His 

monarchical 

power. 

Plutarch, 
Gaius Grac- 
chus, 6. 



Rotne, p. 130, 
n. I. 



i68 



The Revolution 



the money to the Iberian cities, and further to censure 
Fabius for making the Roman dominion heavy and intoler- 
able to the subject nations. This decree brought Gains 
great reputation and popularity in the provinces. 

He also introduced measures for sending out colonies, for 
the construction of roads, and for the building of public 
granaries ; and he made himself director and superintendent 
for carrying all these plans into effect. Though engaged in 
so many great undertakings, he was never wearied, but with 
wonderful activity and labor he effected every single object 
as if he had for the time no other occupation ; so that even 
those who thoroughly feared and hated him were amazed at 
the rapidity and perfect execution of all that he undertook. 
But the people looked with admiration on the man himself, 
as they saw him attended by crowds of building contractors, 
artificers, ambassadors, soldiers, and learned men, to all of 
whom he was easy of access. And while he maintained his 
dignity, he was affable to all, and adapted his behavior to 
the condition of every individual, and so proved the false- 
hood of those who called him tyrannical or arrogant or 
violent. In this way he showed himself more skilful as a 
popular leader in his dealings with men than even in his 
speeches from the rostra. 

But Gains busied himself most about the building of 
roads with a view to utility, convenience, and ornament. 
The roads were made in a straight line through the country, 
partly of quarried stone and partly with tight-rammed masses 
of earth. By filling up the depressions, and by throwing 
bridges across those parts which were traversed by winter 
torrents or deep ravines, and by raising the road on both 
sides to the same uniform height, the whole hne was made 
level, and presented a pleasing appearance. He also meas- 
ured all the roads by miles — the Roman mile is not quite 
eight stadia — and he fixed stone blocks to mark the dis- 
tances. He placed other stones at shorter distances from 
one another on each side of the road, that people might 



Opposition to Gaius 



169 



easily mount their horses from these blocks without other 
assistance. 

He called the Latin allies to demand the full rights of 
Roman citizenship, for the senate could not with decency 
refuse this privilege to kinsmen by blood. To the other 
allies, who were not allowed to vote in Roman assemblies, 
he sought to give the right of suffrage, in order to have 
their help in the enactment of laws which he had in mind. 
Greatly alarmed at this, the senate ordered the consuls to 
give public notice : " Nobody who does not possess the 
right of suffrage shall stay in the city or approach within 
forty stadia of it while the voting is going on concerning 
these laws." The senate also persuaded Livius Drusus, 
another tribune, to interpose his veto against the laws pro- 
posed by Gracchus, but not to tell the people his reasons 
for doing so ; for a tribune was not required to give reasons 
for his veto. In order to v/in the people they gave Drusus 
the privilege of founding twelve colonies, and the plebeians 
were so much pleased with this that they began to scoff at 
the laws proposed by Gracchus. 

(These were the achievements of Gaius in the first and 
second year of his tribunate. But he failed to be elected 
for a third year, and his enemies called an assembly to 
repeal his law for establishing a colony at Carthage. In 
a fight which broke up this meeting the senatorial party 
gained the upper hand.) 

Gaius took no part in the contest, but greatly troubled at 
what was happening, he retired to the temple of Diana, and 
was going to kill himself there, but was prevented by his 
faithful friends, Pomponius and Licinius, who took the sword 
away and induced him to flee. It is said that he went down 
on his knees in the temple, and stretching out his hands to 
the statue of the goddess, prayed that for their ingratitude 
and treachery to him the Roman people might always be 
slaves ; for the greater part of them had openly gone over 
to the other side on receiving a promise of pardon. 



The Latins 
and the 
Italians. 

Appian, Civil 
Wars, i. 23, 

(For col- 
onies, allies, 
etc., see 
Rome, pp. 
62-64 ; ^''' 
cient Histoiy, 
pp. 294-296.) 



His troubles. 



Plutarch, 
Gaius Grac- 
chus, 16. 



170 



The Revolution 



His death. 

Plutarch, 
Gains Grac- 
chus, 17, 



Opimius. 

Plutarch, 
Gains Grac- 
chus, 18. 



P. 172. 



Gains fled and his enemies pursued. They came near over- 
taking him at the Wooden Bridge ; but his two friends, bid- 
ding him make his escape, opposed the pursuers, and aUowed 
no one to pass the head of the bridge till both were killed. 
With Gaius ran a single slave named Philocrates. All the 
spectators were urging Gaius to fly, just as if they were en- 
couraging a runner in a race, yet no one, though he prayed 
for it, would come to his aid or lend him a horse ; for the 
pursuers were close upon him. He escaped into the sacred 
grove of the Furies, and there fell by the hand of Philocrates, 
who killed himself on the body of his master. . . . 

The bodies of Gaius and Fulvius (his friend) and of their 
partisans were thrown into the river, their property was sold, 
and the money was paid into the treasury. The number of 
the dead amounted to three thousand. The authorities for- 
bade the women to lament for their relatives, and deprived 
Licinia (the wife of Gaius) of her marriage portion. 

Opimius (the consul who caused the overthrow of Gaius) 
was the first who ever exercised the dictatorial power in the 
office of consul. He condemned without trial three thousand 
citizens — among them Gaius Gracchus and Fulvius Flaccus. 
Fulvius was a man of consular rank and had enjoyed a 
triumph ; Gracchus was the first man of his age in character 
and reputation. This Opimius did not keep himself free 
from corruption. Sent as a commissioner to Jugurtha, the 
king of Numidia, he was bribed by him ; and convicted of 
most shameful corruption, he spent the last years of his life 
in infamy, hated and insulted by the people, who though 
humbled and depressed for a time, soon showed how much 
they longed for and regretted the Gracchi. For they had 
statues of the two brothers made and set up in public places, 
and the spots on which they fell were declared sacred ground, 
to which the people brought all the first fruits of the seasons ; 
and many persons daily offered sacrifices there and wor- 
shipped, just as at the temples of the gods. 

Cornelia bore her misfortunes with a noble spirit, and said 



An Old-Time Roman 171 

of the sacred ground on which her sons were murdered, that Cornelia, 
they had a tomb worthy of them. . . . She would speak of Plutarch, 
her sons without showing sorrow or shedding a tear, relating chus^ig!^'^'^' 
their sufferings and their deeds to her inquiring friends as if 
she were speaking of the men of olden time. . . . Though 
fortune has often the advantage over virtue in its attempts 
to guard against evils, she cannot take away from virtue the 
power of enduring them with fortitude. 

Gaius Marius 

(Not long after the death of the younger Gracchus, Gaius Gaius 
Marius came into prominence as a military commander of 
remarkable genius, and as a leader of the people against the 
corrupt nobility.) 

Marius was the son of obscure parents, who gained their Plutarch, 
living by the labor of their hands, and were poor. His '^''^'^-S- 
father's name was Marius, his mother's Fulcinia. Many 
years passed before young Marius saw Rome and became 
acquainted with the habits of the city. Up to that time he 
lived ... in a village in the neighborhood of Arpinum. 
His mode of life was rude when contrasted with the polite 
and artificial fashions of the city, but temperate and in ac- 
cordance with the old Roman discipline. He first served 
against the Celtiberians when Scipio (yEmilianus) Africanus Pp. 144, 160. 
was besieging Numantia, and he attracted the notice of his 
commander by his superiority in courage over all the other 
young soldiers, and by readily adapting himself to the im- 
proved discipline which Scipio introduced among the troops, 
who had been corrupted by luxurious habits and extrava- 
gance. It is said, too, that Marius killed one of the enemy 
in a single combat in the presence of the general. 

The young man accordingly received from Scipio various Honored by 
tokens of honor. Once after supper when those who were "^^°' 
present began to talk about generals, and one of the com- 
pany, either because he really felt a difficulty or merely wished 



1/2 



The Revolution 



to flatter Scipio, asked him where the Romans would find 
such another leader and protector when he was gone, Scipio 
laid his hand gently on the shoulder of Marius, who was 
reclining next to him, and said, " Perhaps here." So full 
of promise was the youth of Marius and so discerning was 
the judgment of Scipio. 

The leading features in the character of Marius were 
industry, integrity, great knowledge of war, and a spirit 
undaunted in the field of battle. Temperate in private life 
and superior to pleasure, he was ambitious only for glory. 

When Caecilius Metellus was appointed consul with the 
command of the war against Jugurtha (king of Numidia), 
he took Marius with him as lieutenant to Libya. . . . 

Though the war involved many hardships, Marius shrank 
from no danger however great, and he thought nothing too 
trivial to be neglected, but in prudent measures and in 
careful foresight he surpassed all the officers of his own 
rank, and he vied with the soldiers in hard living and in 
endurance. In these ways he won their affections. For 
certainly nothing reconciles a man so readily to toil as to 
see another willingly sharing it with him, for thus the com- 
pulsion seems to be taken away. It is the greatest pleasure 
to Roman soldiers to see their general eating with them 
common bread and sleeping on a coarse mat, or taking a 
hand in trench work and fortification. 

Soldiers do not so much admire a general who shares with 
them the honor and the spoil as one who takes part in their 
toils and dangers ; and they love a commander who will 
share in their labors more than one who indulges their 
license. By such conduct as this and by winning the affec- 
tion of the troops, Marius soon filled Libya and Rome with 
his fame and glory ; for the soldiers wrote to their friends 
at home and told them there would be no end to the 
war with the barbarians — no deliverance from it — if the 
Romans did not elect Marius consul. 

These proceedings greatly annoyed Metellus. . . . 



A Great Military Change 173 



Marius however was anxious to obtain leave of absence; 
and Metellus after devising various pretexts for delay, at last 
allowed him to go, when there were only twelve days left 
before the consuls would be declared. The long journey 
from the camp to Utica on the coast Marius accomplished 
in two days and one night, and offered sacrifice before 
setting sail. 

In four days he crossed the sea with a favorable wind, and 
was most joyfully received by the people. Introduced to the 
assembly by one of the tribunes, he violently abused Metellus 
and ended with asking for the consulship, promising either 
to kill Jugurtha or to take him alive. 

Declared consul by a great majority, he forthwith set 
about levying soldiers in a new and illegal way. 

He took all who were willing to join him, the greater 
number from the lowest ranks. Some said this was done 
from a scarcity of better men, and others from the consul's 
desire to pay court to the poorer class, by whom he had 
been honored and promoted. In fact to a man grasping at 
power the most needy are the most serviceable. 

Former generals had never admitted men of this kind into 
the army, but had given arms, as a badge of honor, to those 
only who had the due qualification (of property) ; for they 
considered that every soldier pledged his property to the 
state. 

Marius sent for auxiliaries from foreign states, kings, and 
allies ; he enlisted, too, all the bravest men from Latium, 
most of whom he knew by actual service, a few only by 
report ; and by earnest invitation he induced even the dis- 
charged veterans to accompany him. Though opposed to 
him, the senate dared refuse him nothing. The additions 
to the legions it voted with eagerness because it knew that 
military service was unpopular, and thought that Marius 
would lose either the means of warfare or the favor of the 
people. But it entertained such expectations in vain, so 
ardent a desire of going with Marius came upon almost all. 



Elected con- 
sul. 

Plutarch, 
Marius, 8. 



Ib.^. 



His anny. 

Sallust, 
Jiigurthine 
War, 86. 



Plutarch, 
Marius, 9. 



Sallust, 
yugurthine 
War, 84. 



174 



The Revolution 



End of the 
war, io6 B.C. 

Sallust, 
Jugurthine 
War, 86. 



Velleius ii. 

12. 



Death of 
Jugurtha. 

Plutarch, 
Mar ills, 12. 



The Cimbri 
and the 
Teutons. 

Velleius ii. 



Every one cherished the fancy that he would return home 
laden with spoil, crowned with victory, or attended with 
some similar good fortune. 

Setting out accordingly to Africa with a somewhat larger 
force than had been decreed, he arrived in a few days at 
Utica. There he received the command of the army from 
Publius Rutilius, the lieutenant of Metellus ; for Metellus 
himself avoided the sight of his successor, that he might not 
see what he could not endure even to hear mentioned. 

At this early time Gaius Marius had Lucius Sulla connected 
with him as quaestor, perhaps through the care of the fates. 
This officer Marius sent as ambassador to king Bocchus, 
from whom he received king Jugurtha as a prisoner, — an 
event which took place a hundred and thirty-eight years ago. 
Elected consul a second time, and returning to Rome, 
Marius led Jugurtha in triumph on the first of January, the 
day on which his second consulship began. 

After the triumph Jugurtha was thrown into prison, and 
while some were tearing his clothes from his body, others 
who were eager for his golden ear-rings pulled them off, 
and the lobe of the ear with them. As they were thrusting 
him down naked into a deep hole, he in his frenzy, with 
a grinning laugh, cried out, " O Hercules, how cold your 
bath is ! " After struggling against hunger six days, and to 
the last moment clinging to the wish to save his life, he 
paid the penalty due to his enormous crimes. 

The overwhelming force of the German tribes — the 
Cimbri and the Teutons — had vanquished and put to 
flight the consuls Csepio and Manlius in Gaul, besides Carbo 
and Silanus still earlier, had dispersed their armies, and had 
killed Aurelius Scaurus the consul, as well as other leaders 
of great reputation. To repel such formidable enemies, 
the Romans deemed no commander better qualified than 
Marius. Thenceforward consulships multiplied on him. His 
third term was spent in preparations for the war. ... In 
his fourth he engaged the Teutons at Aquae Sextise, beyond 



Tumultuous Assemblies 



US 



the Alps. In two successive days he slew a hundred and 
fifty thousand of them and utterly reduced their nation. 
In his fifth he, with the proconsul Quintus Lutatius Catulus, 
met the Cimbri on what are called the Raudian plains, on 
this side of the Alps, and put an end to the war in a most 
successful battle, in which he killed or took captive above a 
hundred thousand men. 

(In his sixth consulship Marius united with Saturninus, a 
tribune, and with Glaucia, a praetor, to carry a law for dis- 
tributing land among his veterans.) Saturninus appointed 
a day for holding the assembly, and sent messengers to the 
country districts to summon those in whom he had most 
confidence, because they had served in the army under 
Marius. As the law gave the larger share to the Italian 
allies, the city people were not pleased with it. 

Sedition broke out in the comitia. Those who attempted 
to prevent the passage of the laws proposed by the tribunes, 
were assaulted by Saturninus and driven away from the 
rostra. The city people exclaimed that they heard thunder 
in the assembly, in which case it is not permitted by Roman 
custom to finish the business that day. As the followers 
of Saturninus nevertheless persisted, the city people girded 
themselves, seized whatever clubs they could lay their hands 
on, and dispersed the rural party. Rallied by Saturninus, 
the rustics attacked the city folks with clubs, overcame them, 
and passed the law. 

Saturninus was made tribune a third time, and had for his 
colleague one who was thought to be a fugitive slave, but 
who claimed to be a son of the elder Gracchus. The multi- 
tude had supported him in the election because they re- 
gretted Gracchus. When the election for consuls came on, 
Mark Antony was chosen as one of them by common con- 
sent. The aforesaid Glaucia contended with Memmius for 
the other place. Memmius was the more illustrious man 
by far, and Glaucia and Saturninus were fearful of the result. 
So they sent a gang of ruffians (as the opposite party 



Marius, 
Saturninus, 
and Glaucia, 

lOO B.C. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
i. 29. 



/6. i. 30. 



An election 
riot. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
i. 32. 



176 



The Revolution 



Death of 
Satuminus 
and Glaucia. 



Anarchy. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
>-33- 



Strife 
between 
Marius and 
Sulla. 

Plutarch, 
Marius, 32. 



alleged) to attack him with clubs while the election was 
going on. They fell upon him in the midst of the comitia 
and beat him to death in the sight of all. The assembly 
broke up in terror. Neither laws nor courts nor a sense of 
shame remained. 

On the following day the people ran together in anger to 
kill Saturninus, but he had collected another mob from the 
country, and with Glaucia and Gains Saufeius — a quaestor 
— he seized the Capitol. The senate voted them public 
enemies. Though vexed, Marius armed some of his forces 
reluctantly, and while he was delaying, some other persons 
cut off the water-supply from the Capitoline temple. Nearly 
perishing with thirst, Saufeius proposed to set the temple on 
fire, but Glaucia and Saturninus, who hoped that Marius 
would assist them, surrendered, and after them Saufeius. 
As everybody demanded their death, Marius shut them up 
in the senate-house, intending to deal with them in a more 
legal manner. The crowd considered this a mere pretext. 
They tore the tiles off the roof and stoned them to death, 
including a quaestor, a tribune, and a praetor, who were still 
wearing their insignia of office. 

Many others were swept out of existence by this sedition. 
Among them was that other tribune who was supposed to be 
the son of Gracchus, and who perished on the first day of 
his magistracy. 

Freedom, democracy, laws, reputation, official position, 
were no longer of any use to anybody, since even the tribu- 
nician office, which had been devised for the restraint of 
wrong-doers and the protection of the plebeians, and was 
sacred and inviolable, now committed such outrages and 
suffered such indignities. 

(For some time Marius and Sulla, his quaestor in the 
Jugurthine War, had been growing jealous of each other's 
influence.) Strife between them was delayed by the Social 
War which suddenly burst upon the state. 

This war, diversified by many defeats and by great 



Marius in Exile 



177 



changes of fortune, took from Marius as much reputation 
and influence as it gave to Sulla. 

At length the Italians yielded, and many persons at Rome 
were intriguing for the command in the war with Mithridates. 
. . . Marius, moved by boyish emulation, threw off his old 
age and infirmities, and went daily to the Campus Martins, 
where he took his exercises with the young men, and 
showed that he was still active in arms and sat firm in all 
the movements of horsemanship, though he was not well- 
built in his old age, but very fat and heavy. 

The assembly voted the command to Marius, who when 
ready to set out, sent two tribunes to receive the army from 
Sulla. But Sulla, after encouraging his soldiers, who num- 
bered thirty-five thousand well armed men, led them toward 
Rome. These troops fell upon the tribunes whom Marius 
had sent, and murdered them. Marius, on his part, put to 
death many of the friends of Sulla in Rome, and proclaimed 
freedom to the slaves if they would join him ; but it is said 
that three only accepted the offer. As Sulla entered the 
city, Marius made a feeble resistance, and was soon com- 
pelled to flee. 

Instructions had already been sent to every city, requiring 
the authorities to search for the fugitive and put him to 
death when he should be found. 

Marius escaped, however, and without a companion or 
servant fled to Minturnse. While he was resting there in a 
secluded house, the magistrates of the city, whose fears 
were excited by the proclamation of the Roman people, but 
who hesitated to be the murderers of a man who had been 
six times consul and had performed so many brilliant ex- 
ploits, sent a Gaul to kill him with a sword. The story is 
that as the Gaul was approaching the pallet of Marius in 
the dusk, he thought he saw the gleam and flash of fire 
darting from the eyes of a hidden man, and that Marius rose 
from his bed and in a thundering voice shouted to him, 
" Dare you kill Gains Marius? " 

N 



Plutarch, 
Marius, 33. 
90-88 B.C. 

lb. 34. 

(For causes 
of Social 
War, see 
Rome,\>. 166; 
Ancietit His- 
tory, p. 357.) 



Flight of 
Marius, 

88 B.C. 

(The senate 
had already 
given the 
command to 
Sulla.) 

Plutarch, 
Marius, 35. 



lb. 38. 



" I cannot 
kill Gains 
Marius ! ' ' 

Appian, Civil 
Wars, i. 61. 



178 



The Revolution 



" On the 
ruins of 
Carthage." 

Plutarch, 
Marius, 40. 



Marius and 
Cinna, 87 B.C. 

Plutarch, 
Marius, 41. 



The Gaul turned and fled out of doors like a madman, 
exclaiming, " I cannot kill Gaius Marius ! " As the magis- 
trates had come to their previous decision with reluctance, 
so now a kind of religious awe came over them, for they 
remembered the prophecy given him while he was a boy, 
that he should be consul seven times. 

At this time the governor of Libya was Sextilius, a Roman 
who had received neither favor nor injury from Marius. It 
was expected therefore that the governor would help him, 
at least as far as feelings of pity move a man. But no 
sooner had Marius landed with a few of his party than an 
officer met him, and standing right in front of him said : 

"The governor Sextilius forbids you, Marius, to set foot 
on Libya, and he says that if you do, he will support the 
decree of the senate by treating you as an enemy." 

When Marius heard this command, grief and indignation 
deprived him of the power of speech. He remained silent 
a long time, looking fixedly at the officer. As the latter 
asked him what he had to say — what reply he had for the 
governor — he answered with a deep groan : 

" Tell him you have seen Gaius Marius, a fugitive, sitting 
on the ruins of Carthage." 

News reached Rome that Sulla was fighting with the gen- 
erals of Mithridates in Bceotia, while at home the consuls 
(Octavius and Cinna) were quarrelling and taking arms 
against each other. They fought a battle, in which Octavius 
gained the victory and ejected Cinna, who was attempting 
to govern by violent means. Octavius put Cornelius Merula 
into the vacant consulship ; but Cinna collected troops in 
Italy and made war against his enemy in the city. Hearing 
of this contest, Marius determined to set sail immediately. 
He took with him some Moorish cavalry from Africa as well 
as a few Italians who had fled thither — in all not more than 
a thousand. . . . 

Within a few days (after landing in Etruria) he had col- 
lected a considerable army and had manned forty ships. . . . 



Massacre of the Aristocrats 179 

Sending a messenger to Cinna, he offered to obey him as 
consul in everything. Cinna accepted the proposal, and 
naming his helper proconsul, sent him fasces and other 
tokens of the office. 

Marius saw, however, that such trappings were not suited 
to his fortunes ; for he was clad in a mean dress, and his 
hair remained uncut from the day he had gone into exile, 
and he was now above seventy years of age. He advanced 
accordingly with slow steps, wishing to make himself an 
object of pity; but in his abject mien was more than his 
usual terrific expression, and through his downcast looks he 
showed that his passion, so far from being humbled, was 
infuriated by his misfortunes. 

While matters were in this condition, the senate met, and A reign of 
sent deputies to Cinna and Marius to invite them into the ^"°"' 
city, and to entreat them to spare the citizens. Cinna, as j^J^^^i^s 43. 
consul, sitting oh his official chair gave audience to the 
messengers and returned a kind answer. Marius stood by 
the consul's chair without saying a word, but indicating by 
the unchanging heaviness of his brow and his gloomy look 
that he intended to fill Rome with slaughter. 

Cinna and IMarius entered the city, accordingly, and every- Appian, 
body received them with fear. Straightway they began with- j^^l^ J'^'^'^^' 
out restraint to plunder those who were supposed to be of 
the opposite party. 

The factions, too, committed much private and irresponsi- 3. i. 73. 
ble murder. The democrats banished opponents, confiscated 
property, deposed many from office, and repealed the laws 
enacted under Sulla's consulship. They put to death all of 
Sulla's friends, razed his house to the ground, confiscated 
his property, and voted him a public enemy. They searched 
for his wife and children, who however escaped. Altogether 
no calamity was wanting, either general or particular. 

Meantime, as if the wind were beginning to turn, reports The last 
reached Rome from all quarters that Sulla had finished the Biarius 
war with Mithridates, had recovered the provinces, and was 



i8o 



The Revolution 



Plutarch, 
Mar i us, 45. 



His death. 



(The first to 
gain nobility 
of rank.) 



Plutarch, 
Marius, 46. 



sailing home with a large force. This news brought a brief 
pause to the unspeakable misfortunes of the city, for Marius 
and his faction expected their enemies to arrive forth- 
with. . . . 

But Marius was now worn out with labor, and as it were, 
drowned with cares and cowed in spirit. The experience of 
past dangers and toil made him tremble at the thought of a 
new war and fresh struggles, and he could not sustain him- 
self when he reflected that he should now be compelled to 
hazard a contest, not with Octavius or Merula at the head 
of a tumultuous crowd and seditious rabble, but with 
Sulla, the man who had once driven him from Rome, and 
had now confined Mithridates within the limits of his king- 
dom of Pontus. Such thoughts overpowered his mind. 
Reflecting too upon his long wanderings and escapes, and 
upon the dangers in his flight by land and sea, he fell into a 
state of deep despair, and was troubled by nightly alarms 
and terrific dreams, in which he thought he heard a voice 
continually calling out — 

Dreadful is the Lion's lair, 
Though he is no longer there. 

As he greatly dreaded these wakeful nights, he gave him- 
self up to drinking at unseasonable hours, and to a degree 
unsuited to his age, in order to procure deep sleep, as if he 
could thus elude his cares. . . . 

Though he had lived to be seventy years old, and was the 
first Roman who had been consul seven times, and who had 
made hiinself a family, and had acquired wealth enough for 
several kings, he still bewailed his fortune, and complained 
of dying before he had attained the fulness and completion 
of his desires. 

After holding his seventh consulship for seventeen days, 
he died. 



A Degenerate Patrician 



i8i 



Lucius Cornelius Sulla 



Lucius Cornelius Sulla belonged by birth to the patricians 
. . . Among his ancestors is numbered Rufinus, who became 
consul, but who is less noted for this honor than for the 
infamy which befell him. Detected in the possession of 
above ten pounds of silver plate, — which amount the law 
did not permit, — he was ejected from the senate. His 
immediate descendants continued in a mean condition, and 
Sulla himself was brought up with no great paternal property. 

His statue gives us an idea of his appearance, with the 
exception of his eyes and complexion. His eyes were an 
uncommonly pure and piercing blue, which his color ren- 
dered still more terrific, for his face was spotted with rough 
red blotches interspersed with white. . . . And one of the 
Athenian satirists in derision made the following verse with 
reference to his complexion : 



Sulla is a mulberry besprinkled with meal. 



Ancestry. 

Plutarch, 
Sulla, I. 



His appear- 
ance and 
character. 

Plutarch, 
Sulla, 2. 



It 

who 



is not out of place to notice such traits in a man 
is said to have had so strong a love of buffoonery 
that, when he was still young and of no repute, he spent his 
time and indulged himself among coarse actors and jesters; 
and when he was at the head of the state he daily got to- 
gether from the theatre the vilest persons, with whom he 
would drink and contend in coarse witticisms. In this 
recreation he showed no respect for his age, and besides 
degrading the dignity of his office, he neglected many mat- 
ters that required attention. 

He looked on his consulship as only a small matter com- 
pared with what he expected to attain ; the great object of 
his desires was the command in the war against Mithridates. 

Though four years were sufficient to defeat Pyrrhus, and 
seventeen to conquer Hannibal, this monarch held out forty 
years, till, subdued in three great wars, he was by the good Fiorus iii. 5. 



The First 
War with 
Mithridates, 

88-84 B.C. 



l82 



The Revolution 



Rome, p. 176 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 362. 



(Asia, prov- 
ince of.) 



Sulla con- 
ducts the 
war. 

(Attica was 
the home of 
Demeter, 
goddess of 
agriculture.) 

(In fact 
Peiraeus had 
but one wall.) 



fortune of Sulla, the bravery of Lucullus, and the greatness 
of Pompey, brought to nothing. 

As a pretext for war, he alleged to our ambassador Cassius 
that Nicomedes, king of Bithynia, was wasting his borders. 
Moved by ambition, however, he burned with a desire to 
grasp all Asia, and if he could, all Europe. Our vices gave 
him hope and confidence ; for while we were distracted by 
civil wars, the opportunity of assailing us tempted him. 
Marius, Sulla, and Sertorius showed him from a distance 
that the empire was exposed to attack. In the midst of the 
sufferings and disturbances of the commonwealth, therefore, 
the tempest of the Pontic War, seizing its opportunity, 
suddenly descended as from the extreme heights of the north 
upon a people wearied and preoccupied with other matters. 
Its first eruption at once snatched Bithynia from us. A 
similar terror next fell upon Asia, and our cities and people 
forthwith revolted to the king. He was himself active and 
aggressive, and exercised cruelty as if he thought it a virtue. 
What could be more atrocious than one of his edicts, which 
ordered all citizens of Rome who were in Asia to be put to 
death? Then indeed homes, temples, and altars and all 
obligations, human and divine, were violated. 

This terror in Asia opened to the king a passage into 
Europe. Despatched thither, Archelaiis and Neoptolemus, 
two of his generals, seized the Cyclades, Delos, Eubcea, all 
the islands, — except Rhodes, which clung to us more firmly 
than ever, — and Athens, the glory of Greece. The dread 
of the king affected even Italy and the city of Rome itself. 

Lucius Sulla, therefore, who excelled in military affairs, 
hastened to oppose him, and repelled as with a push of the 
hand the enemy who was advancing with equal spirit. 
Athens, the mother of grain, he compelled by famine and 
siege to eat the flesh of human beings — who could believe 
so strange a tale ? Then after undermining the harbor of 
the Peirseus, with its six walls and more, and after reducing 
" the most ungrateful of men," as he himself called the 



Civil War and Proscriptions 183 

Athenians, he spared them for the honor of their de- 
ceased ancestors and for the sake of their rehgion and fame. 
Next driving the king's garrisons from Eubcea and Boeotia, 
he dispersed the whole of the royal forces in one battle at 
Chseronea, and in a second at Orchomenus. Crossing into 
Asia soon afterward, he overthrew the monarch himself. 
At that point the war would have closed, had not Sulla 
desired to triumph over Mithridates hastily rather than 
completely. 

After speedily finishing all his business with Mithridates, Civil war, 
Sulla hastened his return to meet his enemies. . . . He ^~ ^ ^'^' 
came home with a large, well disciplined army, devoted to cfmtwars 
him and elated by his exploits.- He had abundance of i- 76. 
ships, money, and apparatus suitable for all emergencies, and 
was an object of terror to his enemies. Carbo and Cinna J?ome, p. 171. 
were in such fear of him that they despatched emissaries to 
all parts of Italy to collect money, soldiers, and supphes. 

(In two years of civil war Sulla destroyed the armies of Sulla's 
the democratic leaders who opposed him, and then entered tfons"8^2'Bc 
Rome all-powerful.) Now he began to make blood flow, piutarch 
and he filled the city with countless deaths. For private Su/ia, 31. 
enmity many persons were murdered who never had any- 
thing to do with Sulla, but he consented to their death to 
please his partisans. 

At last a young man, Gaius Metellus, had the boldness 
to ask Sulla in the senate-house when there would be an 
end to their miseries, and how far he would proceed before 
they could hope to see their misfortunes cease. 

" We are not deprecating your vengeance against those 
whom you have determined to put out of the way," he said, 
" but we entreat you to relieve of uncertainty those whom 
you have determined to spare." 

Sulla replied, 

" I have not yet determined whom I will spare." 

" Tell us then," Metellus said, " whom you intend to 
punish." 



1 84 



The Revolution 



Greed the 

ruling 

motive. 



Sulla promised to do so. Some say it was not Metellus 
but Afidius, one of Sulla's flatterers, who made use of the last 
expression. Without communicating with any magistrate, 
Sulla immediately proscribed eighty persons. As this act 
caused a general murmur, he let one day pass, and then 
proscribed two hundred and twenty more, and again on the 
third day as many. In an address to the people he said, 
with reference to these measures, that he had proscribed all 
he could think of, and as to those who now escaped his 
memory, he would proscribe them at some future time. 

It was a part of the proscription that every man who re- 
ceived and protected a proscribed person should be put to 
death for his humanity, and there was no exception for 
brothers, children, or parents. The reward for killing a 
proscribed person was two talents, whether it was a slave 
who killed his master or a son who killed his father. But 
what was considered most unjust of all, he affixed infamy on 
the sons and grandsons of all the proscribed, and confiscated 
their property. 

The proscriptions were not confined to Rome but ex- 
tended to every city in Italy. Neither temple nor hospitable 
hearth nor father's house was free from murder ; but hus- 
bands were butchered in the arms of their wives, and chil- 
dren in the embrace of their mothers. The number of 
those who were massacred through revenge and hatred was 
nothing compared with those who were murdered for their 
property. It occurred even to the assassins to notice that 
the ruin of such a one was due to his large house, another 
man owed his death to his orchard, and another again to 
his warm baths. Quintus Aurelius, who never meddled with 
public affairs, and who was no further concerned about all 
these calamities except so far as he sympathized with the 
sufferings of others, happened to come to the Forum, and 
there he read the names of the proscribed. Finding his 
own name among them, he exclaimed, " Alas, wretch that I 
am : my farm at Alba is my persecutor ! " He had not 



The Dictatorship Revived 185 

gone far before he was murdered by some one who was in 
search of him. 

Meanwhile Marius (adopted son of the great Marius, and Sulla at 
a democratic general in the civil war,) killed himself to P^^^^^ste. 
avoid being taken. Sulla then went to Praeneste (which ^^^i^^^h 
Marius had held) and there began to examine the case of 
each individual before punishing him ; but lacking time 
for this inquiry, he had all the people brought to one spot 
to the number of twelve thousand, and ordered them to be 
massacred, with the exception of one man, an old friend 
of his, whom he offered to pardon. But the man nobly 
declared he would never owe his safety to the destroyer of 
his country ; and mingling with the rest of the citizens, he 
was cut down together with them. 

Besides the massacres, other things caused dissatisfaction. His dictator- 
Sulla had himself proclaimed dictator, and thus revived this f^^' ^^"^^ 
office after an interval of a hundred and twenty years. Plutarch, 

Twenty-four axes were carried in front of him, as was ■^^^^'^< 33- 

customary with dictators — the same number which was p^. , .. 

^ legislation, 

borne before the ancient kings : and he had besides a large . . 

° ' ° Appian, 

body-guard. He repealed laws and enacted others. He Ovi/ Wars, 

forbade any one to hold the office of praetor till after he '• ^°°' 

had held that of qusestor, or to be consul before he had 

been praetor, and he prohibited any man from holding the 

same office a second time till after the lapse of ten years. 

He reduced the tribunician power to such an extent that it 

seemed to be destroyed. He curtailed it by a law which 

provided that one holding the office of tribune should never 

afterward hold any other office. For this reason all men of 

reputation or family, who formerly contended for the office, 

shunned it thereafter. . . . 

To the senate itself, which had been much thinned by The senate, 

seditions and wars, he added about three hundred members *^® ^'^^^lu 
' ians,anathe 

from the best of the knights, taking the vote of the tribes soldiers, 
for each one. To the plebeians he added more than ten 
thousand slaves of proscribed persons, choosing the youngest 



i86 



The Revolution 



Sulla's 
abdication. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
i. 103 f. 



His funeral. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
i. 105. 



and strongest, to whom he gave freedom and Roman citizen- 
ship, and he called them Cornelii after himself. In this 
way he made sure of having ten thousand men among the 
plebeians always ready to obey his commands. In order to 
provide the same kind of safeguard throughout Italy, he 
distributed among the soldiers of the twenty-three legions, 
which had served under him, a great deal of land. This 
property lay in various communities ; some of it was public 
and some taken from the communities by way of fine, 

Sulla voluntarily laid down the supreme power. . . . He 
seems to me to have been the same masterful and able man 
in all respects, whether striving to reach supreme power 
from private life, or changing back to private life from 
supreme power, or later when passing his time in rural 
solitude ; for he retired to his own estate at Cumae in Italy, 
and there occupied his leisure in hunting and fishing. He 
did this not because he was afraid to live a private life in 
the city, nor because he had not sufficient bodily strength 
for whatever he might try to do. He was still of virile age 
and sound constitution, and there were a hundred and 
twenty thousand men throughout Italy who had recently 
served under him in war and had received large gifts of 
money and land from him, and there were the ten thousand 
Cornelii ready in the city, besides other people of his party 
devoted to him and still formidable to his opponents. All 
these people rested upon Sulla's safety their hopes of im- 
punity for what they had done in cooperation with him. 
But I think he was satiated with war, with power, with city 
affairs, and that he took to rural life because he loved it. 

(When he died in the following year) his corpse was borne 
through Italy on a golden litter with royal splendor. Musi- 
cians and horsemen went in great numbers in advance and 
a multitude of armed men followed on foot. His fellow- 
soldiers flocked from all directions under arms to join the 
procession, and each one was assigned his place in due 
order as he came. The crowd of other people was greater 



Sulla's Funeral 187 

than had ever before been collected. The standards and 
fasces which Sulla had used while living and ruling were 
carried in the procession. 

When the remains reached the city, they were borne Appian, 
through the streets in an enormous procession. More than j^^'^' 
two thousand golden crowns, made in haste, were carried 
in it ; they were the gifts of cities, and of the legions which 
he had commanded, and of individual friends. It would be 
impossible to describe all the splendid things contributed to 
this funeral. From fear of the assembled soldiery, all the 
priests and priestesses, each in proper costume, escorted the 
body. The entire senate and the whole company of magis- 
trates attended with their insignia of office. A multitude of 
knights with their peculiar decorations followed, and in their 
turn, all the legions which had fought under him. They 
eagerly came together, all hastening to join in the task, and 
carried gilded standards and silver-plated shields, such as 
are still used on similar occasions. 

There was a countless number of trumpeters who by turns lb. 106. 
played the most mournful dirges. Loud cries were raised, 
first by the senate, then by the knights, then by the soldiers, 
and finally by the plebeians. For some really longed for 
Sulla, but others were afraid of his army and of his dead body, 
as they had been of himself when living. As they looked 
at the spectacle before them and remembered what this man 
had accomplished, they were amazed, and agreed with their 
opponents that he had been most beneficial to his own party 
and most formidable to themselves even in death. The 
corpse was shown in the Forum on the rostra, where public 
speeches were usually made, and the most eloquent of 
Romans then living delivered the funeral oration, as Sulla's 
son Faustus was still very young. Then strong men of 
senatorial rank took up the litter and carried it to the 
Campus Martius, where kings only were buried, and 
the knights and the army coursed around the funeral pile. 
And this was the end of Sulla. 



1 88 The Revolution 



STUDIES 

1. Give an account of the parents of the Gracchi. How do Tibe- 
rius and Gaius Gracchus compare with Scipio ^miUanus ? 

2. How did the Romans dispose of acquired land (cf. ch. ii) ? 
What resulted from these arrangements ? 

3. What were the provisions of the agrarian law of Tiberius ? What 
was his aim ? Who opposed and who supported him, and why ? 

4. Was the deposition of Octavius justifiable ? 

5. Why did Tiberius wish a second term ? How was he killed ? 
Was the conduct of the senators right and prudent ? How far did 
they make themselves responsible for the violence and civil war of the 
next hundred years ? 

6. Describe the administration and character of Gaius Gracchus. 
Compare him with his brother. Should we call them statesmen or 
demagogues ? 

7. Write a biography of Marius including a description of his char- 
acter. Was he more cruel than other men of his time ? 

8. From the senate's treatment of the Gracchi, as well as from its 
conduct of the Jugurthine War, what may we infer as to its character 
and ability ? Had Sulla any real ground for believing that his laws 
would maintain it long in power ? 

9. Did Marius or Sulla have the better constitutional right to the 
command against Mithridates ? 

10. Did Cinna as consul have a right to appoint proconsuls ? 

11. Write a biography of Sulla, including an estimate of his char- 
acter. Were his proscriptions wise and statesmanlike ? In what way, 
if in any, did he benefit Rome ? What light does the account of his 
funeral throw on Roman character ? 



CHAPTER VIII 

The Revolution — (2) Pompey, Cassar, and 
Octavius 

Third Period of the Republic — Second Epoch 
(79-27 B.C.) 



pompey 

(Among the rising officers of the army Gngeus Pompey 
was most fitted to be the heir of Sulla's policy.) Never did 
the Roman people give to any other man so strong tokens of 
affection as to Pompey, or at so early an age, or which grew 
so rapidly with the good fortune of the receiver, or remained 
so firm in his misfortunes. The causes of their affection 
were many : his temperate life, his skill in arms, the per- 
suasiveness of his speech, the integrity of his character, and 
his affability to every man who came in his way, so that there 
was no person from whom one could ask a favor with so little 
pain, whose requests one would more willingly strive to sat- 
isfy. In addition to his other endearing qualities, Pompey 
could do a kindness without seeming to do it, and could 
receive a favor with dignity. 

At first his face, too, contributed greatly to win the good 
will of the people, and to secure a favorable reception be- 
fore he opened his mouth. For the sweetness of his expres- 
sion was mingled with dignity and kindness ; and while he 
was yet in the very bloom of youth, his noble and kingly 
nature clearly showed itself. The slight falling back of the 
hair and the expression of the eyes caused people to notice 
a resemblance to the portraits of Alexander, though in fact 
the likeness was more talked of than real. 

189 



Gnaeus 
Pompey. 

Plutarch, 
Pompey, I. 



His appear- 
ance. 

Plutarch, 
Pompey, 2. 



190 



The Revolution 



Plutarch, 
Pompey, 8 



Under Sulla. (While still a young man Pompey raised an army by his 
own means, and joined Sulla in his war upon the democrats. 
He then went to Sicily to suppress the popular party in that 
island, and soon returned victorious.) 

When Sulla saw him approaching, and near him his army, 
admirable for the brave appearance of the men and elated 
with success, he dismounted from his horse to meet the 
young man. Addressed according to custom by the title 
Rome, p. 192. Imperator, Sulla addressed Pompey in return as Imperator, 
though nobody could have expected that Sulla would give a 
young man, who was not yet a member of the senate, the 
title for which he was himself fighting against the Scipios 
and the Marii. In fact everything accorded with this first 
greeting; for Sulla used to rise from his seat and uncover his 
head as Pompey approached, — an honor he would show 
to hardly any other person, though there were many distin- 
guished men about him. 

Pompey was not made vain by these marks of distinction, 
however, but sent forthwith into Gaul by Sulla. ... he per- 
formed noble exploits. . . . Brilliant as they were, these 
deeds were buried under the number and magnitude of his 
later struggles and wars ; so that I have been afraid to disturb 
them, lest if we should dwell too long on his first achieve- 
ments, we should miss the more important acts and events, 
which best show his character. 

Of the Sullan troubles there remained the war with Ser- 
torius, which had been going on for eight years, and which 
was no easy war for Rome, as it was waged not merely 
against Spaniards but against the Romans and Sertorius, 
He had been chosen governor of Spain while he was cooper- 
ating with Carbo against Sulla, and after taking the city of 
Suessa under an armistice, he fled and assumed his governor- 
ship. With an army from Italy itself and another raised 
from the Celtiberians, he drove from Spain the former 
governors, who to favor Sulla refused to surrender the gov- 
ernment to him. He fought nobly, too, against Metellus, 



Sertorius. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
i. 108. 



Spartacus 



191 



whom Sulla had sent to oppose him. After acquiring a 
rejDutation for bravery, he enrolled a council of three hun- 
dred members from the friends who were with him, and 
called it the Roman senate in derision of the real one. 

After the death of Sulla, and later of Lepidus (a demo- 
cratic leader) , Sertorius obtained another Italian army which 
Perpenna, the lieutenant of Lepidus, brought him. It was 
now supposed that he intended to march against Italy itself, 
and he would have done so, had not the senate become 
alarmed and sent another army and general into Spain in 
addition to the former forces. This general was Pompey, 
who was still a young man, but renowned for his exploits 
under Sulla. (Sertorius was himself unconquerable ; but 
when at length he was assassinated, Perpenna, his faithless 
lieutenant, easily fell a prey to Pompey.) 

After staying long enough to end the chief disturbances, 
and to quiet and settle the most dangerous troubles, Pompey 
led his army back to Italy, where he chanced to arrive at the 
time the Servile War was at its height. 

Spartacus, by birth a Thracian, who had once served as a 
soldier with the Romans, had since become a prisoner, and 
had been sold for a gladiator. While he was in the gladia- 
torial training-school at Capua, he persuaded about seventy 
of his comrades to strike for their own freedom, rather than 
for the amusement of spectators. They overcame the guards 
and ran away. Arming themselves with clubs and daggers, 
which they took from people on the roads, they sought refuge 
on Mount Vesuvius. . . . Afterward still greater throngs 
flocked to Spartacus, till his army numbered seventy thou- 
sand men. Fcfr them he manufactured weapons and col- 
lected apparatus. 

This war, so formidable to the Romans, had now lasted 
three years. When the election of prgetors came on, fear fell 
upon all, and nobody offered himself as a candidate until 
Licinius Crassus, a man distinguished among the Romans 
for birth and wealth, assumed the prgetorship, and marched 



76 B.C. 



72 B.C. 



The Servile 
War 

(or Gladia- 
torial War), 
73-71 B.C. 

Plutarch, 
Fotiipey, 21. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
i. 116. 



lb. i. 118. 



192 



The Revolution 



Appian, Civil 
Wars, i. 119. 



Plutarch, 
Pompey, 21. 



The pirates. 
Florus iii. 6. 



Plutarch, 
Pompey, 24. 



with six legions against Spartacus. . . . Presently he over- 
came ten thousand insurgents, who were encamped in a 
detached position, and killed two-thirds of them. 

Believing that the work still to be done against Spartacus 
was great and severe, the government ordered up as a re- 
enforcement the army of Pompey, which had just arrived 
from Spain. 

This was the reason why Crassus, the commander, risked 
a battle, which he gained with the slaughter of twelve thou- 
sand three hundred of the enemy. But Fortune, as we may 
say, adopted Pompey into this success also, for five thousand 
men who escaped from the battle fell in his way. After de- 
stroying all of them, he took the opportunity of writing first 
to the senate that whereas Crassus had conquered the glad- 
iators in a pitched battle, he had himself pulled up the war 
by the roots. And this was agreeable for the Romans to 
hear, because of their good will to Pompey. 

Meantime, while the Romans were engaged in different 
parts of the world, the Cilicians had spread themselves over 
the sea, and by obstructing commerce and by breaking the 
bonds of human society, had made the sea as impassable 
through piracy as it would have been rendered by a tempest. 

And now men who were powerful in wealth and of distin- 
guished birth, and who claimed superior education, began 
to embark on piratical vessels and to share in their under- 
takings, as if the occupation were reputable and an object of 
ambition. In many places were piratical posts and fortified 
beacons, at which armaments put in. For this peculiar occu- 
pation swift light fleets were fitted out with bold vigorous 
crews and skilful helmsmen. More annoying than their for- 
midable appearance was their arrogant and pompous equip- 
ment with golden streamers and purple sails and silvered 
oars, as if they rioted in their evil practices and prided 
themselves on them. Their playing on flutes and stringed 
instruments and their drinking along the whole coast, their 
seizure of persons high in office, and their holding captured 



The Pirates 



193 



cities for ransom, disgraced the Roman supremacy. The 
piratical ships had now increased to above a thousand, and 
the cities seized by them were four hundred. 

But their most insulting conduct was of the following na- 
ture. Whenever a captive called out that he was a Roman 
and mentioned his name, they would pretend to be terrified, 
and would strike their thighs and fall down at his knees 
l^raying him to pardon them ; and their captive would be- 
lieve all this to be real, seeing that they were humble and 
suppliant. Then some would put Roman shoes on his feet, 
and others would throw over him a toga, pretending it was 
done that there might be no mistake about him again. 
When they had for some time mocked the man in this way, 
and had their fill of amusement, they would put a ladder 
down into the sea, and bid him step out and go away with 
their best wishes for a good journey ; and if the man would 
not go, they pushed him into the water. 

Pompey directed his efforts against Cihcia, the source 
and origin of the war. Neither did the enemy shrink from 
an engagement with him nor lose confidence in their strength ; 
hard pressed, they were willing to dare. They did no more 
than meet the first onset, however, for immediately after- 
ward when they saw the beaks of our ships encircling them, 
they threw down their weapons and oars, and with a great 
clapping of hands, which with them was a sign of supplica- 
tion, begged for quarter. 

Never did we obtain a victory with so little bloodshed. 
Nor was any nation afterward found so faithful to us, — a 
state of things secured by the remarkable prudence of the 
general, who removed this maritime people far from the sight 
of the sea, and tied them down, as it were, to the inland 
parts of the country. Thus he recovered the free use of 
the sea for ships, and at the same time restored to the land 
its own inhabitants. 

In this victory what shall we most admire? Its speed, as 
it was gained in forty days? Its good fortune, as not a 



Pompey 
conquers 
them, 67 B.C. 

Florus iii. 6. 

Rome,T^.\']'?> ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 363. 



194 



The Revolution 



The 

Conspiracy 
of Catiline, 

63 B.C. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 



His methods. 



single ship was lost? Or its durable effect, as the Cilicians 
in consequence were never afterward pirates? 

Catiline and Cicero 

At this time Lucius Catiline was a person of importance, 
of great celebrity, and high birth, but a madman. It was 
believed that he had killed his own son because of his own 
love for Aurelia Orestilla, who was not willing to marry a man 
who had a son. He had been a friend and zealous partisan 
of Sulla. He had reduced himself to poverty in order to 
gratify his ambition, but still he was courted by the powerful, 
both men and women, and he became a candidate for the 
consulship as a step leading to absolute power. 

He confidently expected to be elected, but the suspicion 
of his ulterior designs defeated him ; and Cicero, the most 
eloquent orator and rhetorician of the period, was chosen 
instead. Catiline, by way of raillery and contempt for those 
who voted for Cicero, called him a " New Man " on account 
of his obscure birth — for so they called those who achieved 
distinction by their own merits and not by those of their 
ancestors ; and because he was not born in the city, Catiline 
called him a lodger, by which term they designate those who 
occupy houses belonging to others. 

From this time Catiline abstained wholly from politics as 
not leading quickly and surely to absolute power, but as full 
of the spirit of contention and malice. He procured much 
money from many women, who hoped that their husbands 
would be killed in the uprising ; and he formed a conspiracy 
with a number of senators and knights, and collected to- 
gether a body of plebeians, foreign residents, and slaves. 
His leading fellow-conspirators were Cornelius Lentulus and 
Cethegus, who were then the city praetors. He sent agents 
throughout Italy to those of Sulla's soldiers who had squan- 
dered the gains of their former life of plunder, and who 
longed for a renewal of violence. For this purpose he sent 



A Conspirator 



195 



Gaius Manliiis to Fgesula in Etruria, and others to Picenum 
and Apulia, who enhsted soldiers for him secretly. 

All these facts, while they were still secret, were commu- 
nicated to Cicero by Fulvia, a woman of quality. Her lover, 
Quintus Curius, who had been expelled from the senate for 
immorality, and was one of the conspirators, told her in a 
vain and boastful way that he would soon be in a position of 
great power. And now a rumor of what was transpiring in 
Italy was noised about. Accordingly Cicero stationed guards 
at intervals throughout the city, and sent many of the nobility 
to the suspected places to watch what was going on. 

(Catiline had the boldness to take his usual place in the 
senate, whereupon Cicero delivered against him a terrible 
invective. Some extracts from this speech are given below.) 

How long, Catiline, will you abuse our patience? How 
long will your frantic rage baffle the efforts of justice? To 
what height do you mean to carry your daring insolence? 
Are you not daunted by the nightly watch posted to secure 
the Palatine Hill? or by the city guards? or by the fear of 
the people? or by the union of all the wise and worthy 
citizens? or by the senate's assembling in this place of 
strength? or by the looks and faces of all here present? 
Do you not see that all your designs are brought to light? 
that the senators are thoroughly informed of your conspiracy? 
that they are acquainted with what you did last night and 
the night before, your place of meeting, the company you 
summoned, and the measures you concerted? Alas for our 
degeneracy ! alas for the depravity of the times; the senate 
is informed of this whole plot, the consul sees it, yet the 
traitor lives. Lives, did I say? He even comes into the 
senate ; he shares in the public deliberations ; he marks 
us out with his eye for destruction. We, bold in our 
country's cause, think we have sufficiently done our duty to 
the state, if we can but escape his rage and deadly darts. 
Long ago, Catiline, ought the consul to have ordered 
your execution, and to have directed upon your own 



The 

conspiracy 

divulged. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
ii. 3- 



Cicero 

denounces 

Catiline. 

Cicero, 
Against Cati- 
line, i. 



196 



The Revolution 



All hate 
Catiline. 



His country 
pleads with 
him. 



head the ruin you have long been meditating against us 
all. . . . 

For my part, were my slaves to discover such a dread of 
me as your fellow-citizens express of you, I should think it 
necessary to abandon my own house ; and do you hesitate 
to leave the city? Were I even wrongfully suspected, and 
thereby rendered obnoxious to my countrymen, I would 
sooner withdraw myself from public view than be beheld with 
looks full of reproach and indignation. And do you, whose 
conscience tells you that you are the object of a universal, 
just, and long-merited hatred, delay a moment to escape from 
the looks and presence of a people whose eyes and senses 
can no longer endure you among them ? Should your parents 
dread and hate you, and resist all your efforts to appease 
them, you would doubtless withdraw from their sight. 

But now your country, the common parent of us all, hates 
and dreads you, and has long regarded you as a parricide, 
intent on the purpose of destroying her. And will you 
neither respect her authority, submit to her advice, nor 
stand in awe of her power? Thus does she reason with 
you, Catiline ; thus does she, though silent, in some man- 
ner address you : " Not an enormity has happened these 
many years but has had you for its author ; not a crime has 
been perpetrated without you. The murder of so many 
of our citizens, the oppression and the plunder of our allies 
has through you alone escaped punishment, though carried 
on with unrestrained violence. You have found means not 
only to trample on law and justice but even to subvert and 
destroy them. Though this past behavior of yours was 
beyond all patience, yet I have borne with it as I could ; 
but now to be in continual fear of you alone, on every alarm 
to tremble at the name of Catiline, to see no plots formed 
against me which speak not of you as their author, is alto- 
gether insupportable. Begone, then, and rid me of my 
present terror; that if just, I may avoid ruin; if groundless, 
I may at length cease to fear ! . . ." 



A Patriot's Prayer 



197 



It is now a long time, senators, that we have trod amid 
the dangers and machinations of this conspiracy ; but I know 
not how it comes to pass, that the full maturity of all those 
crimes, and of this long-ripening rage and insolence, has 
now broken out in the period of my consulship. Should 
he alone be removed from this powerful band of traitors, 
it may abate perhaps our fears and anxieties for a while, 
but the danger will still remain, and continue lurking in the 
veins and vitals of the republic. . . . Wherefore, senators, 
let the wicked retire ; let them separate themselves from 
the honest ; let them gather in one place. As I have often 
said, let a wall be between them and us. Let them cease 
to lay snares for the consul in his own house, to beset the 
tribunal of the city prsetor, to invest the senate-house with 
armed ruffians, and prepare fire-balls and torches for burn- 
ing the city. In brief, let every man's sentiments regarding 
the republic be inscribed on his forehead. 

This I engage for and promise, senators, that by the 
diligence of the consuls, the weight of your authority, the 
courage and firmness of the Roman knights, and the una- 
nimity of all who are honest, Catiline shall be driven forth 
from the city, and you shall behold all his treasons detected, 
exposed, crushed, and punished. With these omens of all 
prosperity to the republic but of destruction to yourself, 
Catiline, and to those who have joined themselves with you 
in all kinds of parricide, go your way to this impious and 
abominable war. And do thou, Jupiter, whose religion was 
established with the foundation of this city — thou whom 
we truly call the Stayer, the support and prop of this empire 
— drive this man and his associates from thy altars and 
temples, from the houses and walls of the city, from the 
lives and fortunes of us all ; and destroy with eternal 
punishments, in life and death, all the haters of good 
men, all the enemies of their country, all the plunderers 
of Italy, now joined in this detestable league and partnership 
of villainy ! 



All traitors 
should leave 
the city. 



May Jupiter 
save the 
state and 
destroy its 
enemies ! 



198 



The Revolution 



The 

"Father 
of his 
Country." 



Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
ii. 7. 



P. 155. 



(The traitor fled from Rome, and was soon afterward 
defeated and killed in battle. Meantime Cicero had arrested 
and put to death some chiefs of the conspiracy who remained 
in the city.) 

Such was the end of the uprising of Catiline, which 
brought the city into extreme peril. Cicero, who had 
hitherto been distinguished only for eloquence, was now 
in everybody's mouth as a man of action, and was con- 
sidered unquestionably the saviour of his country on the eve 
of its destruction. For this reason the thanks of the assem- 
bly were bestowed upon him amid general acclamations. 
At the instance of Cato the people saluted him Father of 
his Country. 

(For some years after these events the interest in Roman 
history centres chiefly in Caesar.) 



STUDIES 

1. Why did the Romans love Pompey ? To what political party 
did he belong ? Was he or Sertorius the greater general ? 

2. Give an account of the Servile War (or war with Spartacus). 
Who deserves the chief credit for ending it ? 

3. Describe the pirates and their doings. What must have been 
the condition of the Roman government which allowed them to grow 
so dangerous ? How did Pompey break their power ? 

4. Give an account of Catiline's conspiracy. Describe his character. 
Who discovered and crushed the conspiracy ? What are the points 
made by Cicero in the speech partly quoted ? What reward did Cicero 
receive for his patriotic energy ? 



CHAPTER VIII [continued) 

The Revolution — (2) Pompey, Caesar, and 
Octavius 



(79-27 B.C.) 
C^SAR 

Gaius Julius Caesar was born of the most noble, and as 
all writers admit, most ancient family of the Julii, which 
derived its origin from Anchises and Venus. In personal 
beauty he was the first of all his countrymen, in vigor of 
mind indefatigable, liberal to excess, in spirit elevated above 
the nature and conception of man. In the grandeur of 
his designs, in the celebrity of his military operations, 
and in the cheerful facing of dangers, he exactly resembled 
Alexander the Great when sober and free from passion. 
He was closely connected in kinship with Gaius Marius and 
a son-in-law of Cinna. For these reasons, though he was 
only about nineteen years old when Sulla assumed the 
government, the ministers and creatures of Sulla — more 
than the dictator himself — searched for Csesar to kill him,- 
whereupon he changed his clothes ; and putting on a dress 
far inferior to his rank, he escaped from the country in the 
night. Afterward while he was still very young, he was 
captured by pirates. 

The pirates asked Caesar twenty talents as a ransom, but 
he laughed at them for not knowing who their prize was, 
and promised them fifty talents. While he despatched his 
attendants to various cities to raise the money, he was left 

199 



Birth and 
character. 

Velleius ii. 
41. 



Among the 
pirates. 

Plutarch, 
CcBsar, 2. 



200 The Revolution 

with one friend and two servants among the CiUcian pirates, 
who were notorious for their cruelty. He treated them, 
however, with such contempt that whenever he was lying 
down to rest, he would send them his command to be quiet. 
He spent thirty-eight days among them, not so much like a 
prisoner as a prince surrounded by his guards, and he joined 
in their sports and exercises with perfect unconcern. He 
also wrote poems and some speeches, which he read to 
them, and those who did not approve of his compositions 
he would call to their faces ignorant fellows and barbarians, 
and he often told them with a laugh that he would hang 
them all. 

The pirates were pleased with his manners, and attributed 
this freedom of speech to simplicity and a mirthful disposi- 
(Pharmacu- tion. As soon as the ransom came from Miletus, and 
ne'ar'Miie-"'^ Caesar had paid it and was set at liberty, he manned some 
tus.) vessels in the port of Miletus and went after the pirates, 

whom he found still on the island. Most of them he 
captured. 
His consul- ..^. After entering upon his consulship, he introduced a new 
s ip, 59 ^-c. regulation, that the daily acts of the senate and of the as- 
7"//!/°"'"^' semblies should be committed to writing and published. . . . 
Ccesar, 20. When he presented to the people a bill for the division of 

some public lands, the other consul opposed him. There- 
upon Caesar violently drove his colleague from the Forum. 
Next day in the senate the insulted consul complained of 
his ill treatment ; but no one had the courage to bring the 
matter forward or move a censure, which had often been 
done in the case of less important outrages. Caesar's col- 
league was so much dispirited, therefore, that till the expi- 
ration of his office he never stirred from home, and did 
nothing but issue edicts to obstruct the other consul's pro- 
ceedings. 

From that time, therefore, Csesar had the sole manage- 
ment of pubhc affairs ; so that some wags, when they signed 
any document as witnesses, did not add " in the consulship 



The Greatness of Ciissar 



20I 



of Caesar and Bibulus," but " of Julius and Caesar," putting 
the same person down twice under his name and surname. 
The following verses, too, were repeated with reference to 
this matter ; 

Nothing was done in Bibulus' year; 
No, Caasar only was consul here. ^ 

Such was the course of Caesar's life before his Gallic 
campaigns. But the period of the wars which he now car- 
ried on, and of the expedition by which he subdued Gaul, 
is a new beginning in his career and the opening of a new 
course of life and action, in which he showed himself a sol- 
dier and a general inferior to none who have gained admira- 
tion as leaders of men. For whether we compare Ccesar's 
exploits with those of the Fabii, the Scipios, and the Metelli, 
or with those of his contemporaries or immediate prede- 
cessors, — Sulla and Marius and both the LucuUi or even 
Pompey himself, whose fame, high as the heavens, was 
blossoming at that time in every kind of military excellence, 
— Caesar will be found to surpass them all. 

His superiority over one appears in the difficulties of the 
country in which he carried on his campaigns, over another 
in the extent of country subdued, over a third in the number 
and courage of the enemy whom he defeated, over another 
again in the savage manners and treacherous character of 
the nations which he civilized, over a fourth in clemency 
and mildness to the conquered, over another again in his 
donations and liberality to his soldiers ; and in a word, his 
superiority over all other generals appears in the number of 
battles which he fought and of enemies whom he slew. 

For in somewhat less than ten years, during which he 
carried on his campaigns in Gaul, he took by storm eight 
hundred cities, and subdued three hundred nations, and 
fought at different times against three millions of men, of 
whom he destroyed one million in battle and took as many 
prisoners. 



His 

campaigns 
in Gaul, 58- 

50 B.C. 

Plutarch, 
Ceesar, 15. 



202 



The Revolution 



Plutarch, 
C<zsar, i6. 



So great were the good will and devotion of Caesar's 
soldiers to him that those who, under other generals, were 
in no way superior to ordinary soldiers were, under Caesar, 
irresistible and ready to meet any danger for their com- 
mander's glory. 



Description 
of Gaul. 

Caesar, 
Gallic War, 



The factions 
of the Gauls. 

Caesar, 
Gallic War, 
vi. II. 



Gaul as a whole is divided into three parts, one of which 
is occupied by the Belgians, another by the Aquitanians, 
and a third by those who in their own language are called 
Celts, but in ours Gauls. The Garonne River separates the 
Gauls from the Aquitanians ; the Marne and the Seine flow 
between them and the Belgians. Of all these peoples, the 
Belgians are the bravest, because they are the farthest from 
the civilization and refinement of our Province, and mer- 
chants less frequently resort to them and import those com- 
modities which tend to weaken the mind ; and they are the 
nearest to the Germans, who dwell across the Rhine, with 
whom the Belgians are continually waging war. For the 
same reason the rest of the Gauls are inferior in valor to the 
Helvetians, who contend with the Germans in almost daily 
battles. In these contests the Helvetians are either repelling 
the Germans from their lands or themselves waging war on 
the German frontiers. 

It does not appear foreign to our subject to lay before 
the reader an account of the manners of Gaul and Germany, 
and to explain the differences between these two nations. 
In Gaul there are factions not only in all the states and in 
all the cantons and their divisions but almost in each family, 
and of these factions those are the leaders who are supposed 
to possess the greatest influence, upon whose will and judg- 
ment the management of all affairs and measures depends. 
And this custom seems to have been instituted in ancient 
times in order that no one of the common people might be 
in want of support against a more powerful person ; for no 
leader suffers his party to be oppressed or defrauded ; and 
if he does otherwise, he no longer has influence in his 



Factions in Gaul 



203 



party. The same policy exists throughout Gaul, for all the 
states are divided into two factions. 

When Caesar arrived in Gaul, the Ai^dui were the leaders 
of one faction, the Sequani of the other. As the chief 
influence from of old was with the ^dui, who had great 
dependencies, the Sequani, who were inferior, had united 
to themselves the Germans under Ariovistus, and by great 
sacrifices and promises had brought these foreigners over 
to their own party. After fighting several successful battles 
and killing all the nobiUty of the ALdni, the Sequani had 
come to surpass them in power to such an extent that they 
brought over from the ^dui to themselves a large number 
of their dependents, and received from their defeated rivals 
the sons of the leading men as hostages, and compelled 
them to sweaf publicly that they would enter into no design 
against their conquerors. A portion of the neighboring coun- 
try the Sequani seized by force, and acquired the leadership 
of the whole of Gaul, 

Divitiacus (the ^Eduan leader), urged by this necessity, had 
gone to Rome to the senate for the purpose of asking assist- 
ance, and had returned without accomplishing his object. 

On the arrival of Caesar a change of affairs took place; 
the hostages were returned to the ^dui, their old depend- 
encies were restored, and they acquired new subjects through 
Caesar ; for those who attached themselves as (dependent) 
alhes to the ^dui saw that they enjoyed a better state and 
a milder government. The interests, the influence, and the 
reputation of the ^dui increased, and consequently the 
Sequani lost the leadership of Gaul. The Remi succeeded 
to their place; and as all could see that they equalled the 
^dui in favor with Caesar, those who disliked to join the 
yEdui placed themselves in clientship to the Remi. The 
latter carefully protected them, and in this way suddenly 
acquired new influence. The state of affairs, accordingly, 
was that the ^dui were considered by far the leading people, 
and the Remi held the second post of honor. 



The ffidui 

and the 
Sequani. 

Cassar, 
Gallic War, 
vi. 12. 



Caesar 
favors the 
.ffidui and 
the Remi. 



204 



The Revolution 



The druids. 

Caesar, 
Gallic War, 
vi. 13. 



They are 
the judges. 



Their 
organiza- 
tion. 



Throughout Gaul are two orders of men who have rank 
and dignity ; for the common people are held almost in the 
condition of slaves ; they dare do nothing of themselves, 
and take no part in deliberation. The greater number, 
when pressed by debt or by heavy taxes or oppressed by 
the more powerful, give themselves up in vassalage to the 
nobles, who possess over them the same rights without 
exception as masters exercise over their slaves. Of these 
two orders of nobles one is that of the druids, the other 
that of the knights. The former are engaged in religious 
duties ; they conduct the public and private sacrifices and 
interpret all matters of religion. 

To this class a large number of young men resort for 
instruction and all hold the druids in high honor. For these 
priests decide almost all controversies, public and private ; 
and if any crime has been perpetrated, if murder has been 
committed, or if there is any dispute about inheritance or 
about boundaries, these same persons decide it. They 
decree rewards and punishments ; and if any one either 
publicly or privately refuses to submit to their decision, they 
interdict him from the sacrifices. This among them is the 
heaviest punishment. Those who have been thus interdicted 
are esteemed impious and criminal : all shun them and avoid 
their society and conversation, lest they receive some evil 
from the contact ; neither is justice administered to them 
when they seek it, nor is any dignity bestowed on them. 

Over all these druids one presides, who possesses supreme 
authority among them. On his death any individual who is 
preeminent in dignity succeeds ; but if many are equal, the 
election is made by the votes of the druids ; sometimes they 
even contend in arms for the presidency. The members of 
the class gather at a fixed period of the year in a consecrated 
place in the territory of the Carnutes, which is considered the 
central region of the whole of Gaul. Hither all who have 
disputes assemble from every quarter, and submit to their 
decrees and decisions. This institution is supposed to have 



The Druids and the Knights 



205 



been devised in Britain, and to have been brought over from 
there to Gaul ; and now those who wish to gain a more accu- 
rate knowledge of that system go thither for the purpose of 
studying it. 

The druids do not engage in war or pay tribute as the 
rest ; they are exempt from military service and from all 
other burdens. Induced by such advantages, many embrace 
this profession of their own accord, and many are sent to it 
by their parents and kinsmen. In their preparation they 
are said to commit to memory a great number of verses ; some 
accordingly continue in training twenty years. And they do 
not think it lawful to put these verses in writing, though in 
almost all other matters, in their public and private business, 
they use the Greek alphabet. This practice, in my opinion, 
they have adopted for two reasons ; first because they do not 
wish their doctrines to be divulged among the mass of people, 
and secondly that the learners may not in reliance on writing 
be less inclined to exercise the memory. For in their de- 
pendence on writing most men relax their diligence in 
learning thoroughly and in memorizing. 

The druids wish to inculcate this as one of their leading 
tenets, that souls do not become extinct, but pass after death 
from one body to another, and they think this doctrine excites 
men to great valor, and to disregard the fear of death. 
They discuss astronomy, too, and impart to the youth much 
information respecting the stars and their motion, the extent 
of the world and of our earth, the nature of things, and the 
power and majesty of the immortal gods. 

The other order is that of the knights. Before Caesar's 
arrival, war was carried on nearly every year, as each tribe 
was either inflicting injuries or repelling those inflicted by 
others ; and whenever there is war, all the knights are 
engaged. Those who are most distinguished by birth and 
resources have the greatest number of vassals and clients ; in 
fact this is the only sort of influence and power which they 
acknowledge. 



Their learn- 
ing. 

Caesar, 
Gallic War, 
vi. 14. 



The trans- 
migration of 
souls. 



The 
knights. 

CjEsar, 
Gallic War, 
vi. 15. 



2o6 



The Revolution 



Human 
sacrifices. 

Caesar, 
Gallic War, 
vi. i6. 



Their gods. 

Csesar, 
Gallic War, 
vi. 17. 

* (The 
Romans 
identified 
foreign 
deities with 
their own.) 



The Gallic nation is exceedingly devoted to superstitious 
rites ; and for this reason all who are troubled with unusu- 
ally severe diseases, and all who are engaged in battles and 
dangers, either sacrifice men as victims or vow to sacrifice 
them, and employ druids as performers of these rites. For 
they think that unless the life of a man is offered for the fife 
of a man, the immortal gods cannot be rendered propitious. 
They therefore have human sacrifices for national purposes. 
Some make figures of vast size, from the limbs of osiers, and 
fill the interior with living men. They then set these figures 
on fire, so that the men perish in the flames. They consider 
that the offering of those taken in theft, in robbery, or in any 
other offence, is more acceptable to the immortal gods ; but 
when a supply of that class is wanting, they have recourse to 
the offering even of the innocent. 

They worship Mercury especially. They have many images 
of him, and regard him as the inventor of all arts and the 
guide of their journeys and marches ; they believe, too, that 
he helps them greatly to gain wealth and to carry on mer- 
cantile business. Next to him they worship Apollo and 
Mars and Jupiter and Minerva. Regarding these deities 
they have for the most part the same belief as other nations : 
that Apollo averts diseases, that Minerva teaches the useful 
arts, that Jupiter possesses the sovereignty over the heavenly 
powers, that Mars presides over wars. It is their custom 
when they have decided upon batde, to vow to Mars those 
things which they shall take in war. When they have con- 
quered, they sacrifice the captured animals which have sur- 
vived, and all the rest of the booty they collect into one place. 
In many states you may see piles of these things heaped up 
in their consecrated spots ; and it does not often happen 
that any one so disregards the sanctity of the place as to 
secrete captured goods in his house or carry off those which 
have been deposited ; for such a deed has been prescribed the 
most severe punishment by torture. 

All the Gauls assert that they are descended from the god 



Social Customs 



207 



Dis — a tradition handed down, they say, by the druids, 
P'or this reason they compute the divisions of every season 
not by the number of days but of nights ; in their birthdays 
and in the beginnings of their months and years the day fol- 
lows the night. Among their other usages they differ from 
almost all other nations in this respect, that they do not 
permit their children to approach them openly till they are 
grown up so as to be able to bear the service of war ; and 
they regard it as indecorous for a son of boyish age to stand 
in public in the presence of his father. 

Whatever sums of money the husbands have received as 
dowry with their wives, they estimate, and add the same 
amount from their own estates. An account is kept of this 
whole sum and the profits are laid by ; so that the one who 
survives the other may receive the portion of both, together 
with the profits. Husbands have power of life and death 
over their wives as well as over their children. When the 
father of a family of uncommonly high rank has died, his 
kinsmen assemble ; and if the circumstances of his death are 
suspicious, they investigate the conduct of the wives in the 
same way as that of slaves ; and if proof is obtained, they 
put the wives to severe torture and kill them. 

In view of the state of civiHzation among the Gauls, their 
funerals are magnificent and costly. As one of the funeral 
rites they cast into the fire all those possessions of the de- 
ceased, including living creatures, which they suppose to 
have been dear to him in his life. Until lately slaves and 
clients who were known to have been beloved by the de- 
ceased were burned with his body at the close of the funeral 
rites. 

The best regulated states ordain by law that if any person 
hears by rumor anything from his neighbors concerning pub- 
lic affairs, he shall impart it to a magistrate but to no other ; 
for it has been discovered that unthinking and inexperienced 
men are often alarmed by false reports, and driven to some 
rash act, or else take hasty measures in very important 



Strange cus- 
toms. 

Ceesar, 
Gallic War, 
vi. 18. 



The family. 

Caesar, 
Gallic War, 
vi. 19. 



Funerals. 



Censorship 
of news. 

Cassar, 
Gallic War 
vi. 20. 



2o8 



The Revolution 



affairs. The magistrates conceal the news which ought to 
be kept unknown, and disclose to the people whatever they 
think expedient. 



The 
Germans. 

Cffisar, 
Gallic War, 

Vi. 21. 



Occupation 
and homes. 

Caesar, 
Gallic War, 

vi. 22. 



Frontiers. 

Caesar, 
Gallic War, 
vi. 23. 



Very different from the Gallic customs are those of the 
Germans, for they have no druids to preside over sacred ofifices 
nor do they pay great regard to sacrifices. They consider 
as gods those only whom they behold, and by whom they are 
clearly benefited. These beings are the Sun, Fire, and the 
Moon ; of other deities they have not even heard. Their 
whole Hfe is occupied in hunting and in the pursuit of the 
military art ; from childhood they devote themselves to fa- 
tigue and hardships, . . . They bathe in the rivers ; and 
as they wear skins only or small cloaks of deer's hides, a 
large part of the body remains bare. 

They pay little attention to agriculture. Their food, there- 
fore, consists mostly of milk, cheese, and meat. No one has 
a fixed quantity of land or a definite abode, but the magis- 
trates annually distribute among the clans and families as 
much land as they think sufficient, and locate it according 
to their judgment ; every year a change of abode is required. 
By means of this law they take care lest the people, led 
astray by long-continued custom, may exchange their war- 
like ardor for agriculture ; lest they may be anxious to 
acquire large estates, and the more powerful drive the 
weaker from their possessions ; lest they build their houses 
with too great a desire to avoid heat and cold ; lest there 
may spring up a love of wealth, from which divisions and 
discords arise ; and their final object is to keep the common 
people contented by allowing each one to see his own means 
on an equality with those of the greatest nobles. 

It is the highest glory of the several states to lay waste 
their frontiers so as to have as wide deserts as possible 
around them. That neighbors shall be driven from their 
lands and abandon them, and that no one dare settle near, 
— this condition of af^xirs each state takes as evidence of 



An Immense Forest 



209 



its own prowess ; for the same reason it considers itself the 
more secure, because it has the less fear of a sudden attack 
from without. 

When a state either repels or wages war, it chooses magis- 
trates with power of life and death to take the lead in the 
war. In peace the state has no common ruler, but the chiefs 
of districts and cantons administer justice and decide dis- 
putes among their own people. Robberies committed be- 
yond the borders of a state bring no disgrace ; the people 
hold that these depredations are committed for the purpose 
of disciplining their youth and of preventing sloth. When 
any chief says in an assembly, " I will be your leader (in an 
expedition for robbery) ; all who are willing to follow, give 
in your names," they who approve of the enterprise and of 
the man arise and promise assistance, while the people 
applaud them ; and those who fail to keep this promise 
are looked upon as deserters and traitors, and are refused 
confidence in all matters. 

To injure guests they regard as impious ; they defend from 
harm all who have come to them for any purpose whatever, 
and esteem them inviolable ; to such strangers the houses 
of all are open and entertainment is freely supplied. 

To a quick traveller the breadth of the Hercynian forest 
is a nine days' journey ; for it cannot be computed in any 
other way as the natives are unacquainted with the measure 
of roads. It begins on the Helvetian frontier . . . and 
extends directly along the Danube River to the country of 
the Dacians and the Anartes ; thence bending to the left, it 
diverges from the river and because of its great extent it touches 
the borders of many nations. No one in this part of Ger- 
many will say he has ever reached the end of that forest, 
though he has advanced through it a journey of sixty days, 
or has ever heard where it begins. It certainly produces 
many kinds of wild beasts which are seen nowhere else. 
Those mentioned below differ from other animals and are 
worthy of description. 



Chiefs. 



Hospitality. 



The 

Hercynian 

forest. 

Caesar, 
Gallic War, 
vi. 25. 

(An 

immense 
forest in 
southern 
Germany.) 



2IO 



The Revolution 



The 

reindeer. 

Caesar, 
Gallic War, 
vi. 26. 



Elks. 

Caesar, 
Gallic War, 
vi. 27. 



Bisons. 

Caesar, 
Gallic War, 
vi. 28. 



There is an ox of the shape of a stag, between whose ears 
a horn rises from the middle of the forehead, higher and 
straighter than any horns known to us. From the top of it 
long branches extend like palms. The male and the female 
are of the same shape, and their horns have the same form 
and size. 

There are animals, too, which are called elks. In shape 
and in the varied color of their skins they resemble goats, 
but are somewhat larger. They have no horns, and their 
legs are without joints or ligatures ; hence they do not lie 
down to rest, and if thrown down by accident, they cannot 
raise themselves up. Trees are their beds ; the animals lean 
against these supports, and thus reclining but slightly, they 
take their rest. When the huntsmen have discovered the 
abode of these animals from their tracks, they either under- 
mine all the trees at the roots, or cut into them so far that 
the parts above have nothing more than the appearance of 
standing. When according to habit the animals lean upon 
the unsupported trees, their weight tips the trees over and 
the animals themselves fall along with them. 

A third kind of animals is the so-called bisons (or wild 
oxen). They are a little smaller than the elephant and re- 
semble a bull in appearance, color, and form. Their strength 
and speed are extraordinary ; they spare neither man nor 
wild beast which comes within their sight. 

The Germans kill these animals after capturing them with 
great difificulty in pits. The young men harden themselves 
with exercise in this kind of hunting ; and those who have 
killed the greatest number exhibit the horns in pubUc as evi- 
dence of success, for which they receive great praise. But 
not even when taken very young can they be tamed and 
made familiar to men. In size, shape, and appearance, 
their horns are quite different from those of our oxen. 
These horns the Germans anxiously collect, and binding the 
tips with silver, they use them as cups at the most sumptuous 
banquets. 



Citsar, Pompey, and Crassus 2 1 1 

(Before Caesar began the conquest of Gaul, he had formed The First 
with Pompey and Crassus a pohtical alhance known as the 60-53 b.c. ' 
First Triumvirate. By combining their great powers these pjoms iv. 2. 
three men could control the entire Roman world. The fol- 
lowing selections give some account of this triumvirate, and 
of the civil war between Pompey and Caesar which followed 
the conquest of Gaul.) 

In the consulship of Quintus Metellus and Lucius Afranius, 
when the majesty of Rome dominated the world, and the 
imperial city was celebrating in Pompey's theatre her recent 
victories over Pontus and Armenia, the overgrown power of 
Pompey, as is usual in such cases, excited the idle citizens 
to envy of him. Metellus, discontented with the lessening 
of his triumph over Crete, and Cato, ever an enemy of those 
in power, slandered Pompey and raised a clamor against his 
acts. Anger at these doings drove Pompey to harsh meas- 
ures and compelled him to provide a support to his author- 
ity. Crassus, distinguished for family, wealth, and honor, 
desired still greater power. Gains Caesar had become emi- 
nent by his eloquence and spirit, and by his promotion to 
the consulship. Pompey however towered above them both. 
Caesar, eager to acquire distinction, Crassus to increase what 
he had, and Pompey to add to his influence, — and all 
equally covetous of power, — formed an agreement to seize 
the government. As they were all striving with their com- 
mon forces, each for his own advancement, Caesar took the 
province of Gaul, Crassus that of Asia, Pompey that of Spain. 
With their three vast armies they held the empire of the 
world. 

Their government extended through ten years. During Pompey and 
this period they were restrained by fear of one another ; but ^^^^l ^^^ 
at its close Pompey and Caesar became rivals, for Crassus 
had died among the Parthians. Julia, the wife of Pompey 
and daughter of Cassar, had maintained peace between the 
two men, but she also was now dead. 

Thereafter the power of Caesar was an object of jealousy 



212 



The Revolution 



Rome, p. 
187 f. ; 

Ancient 
Histoty, p. 
370. 



Civil war, 

49-45 B.C. 



The battle 
of Phar- 
salus, 48 B.C. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
ii. 77. 



to Pompey, and the eminence of Pompey was offensive to 
Csesar. The one could not bear an equal or the other 
a superior. . . . Accordingly as their bond of union had 
been broken, the senate, championed by Pompey, began to 
think of a successor to Caesar in the proconsulship of Gaul. 
Caesar did not refuse to comply with their desires, provided 
they should regard his wishes as to the coming elections. 
But the consulship, which with Pompey's approval ten trib- 
unes of the plebs had recently decreed to Caesar in his 
absence, was now refused him. The senate insisted that he 
should come and sue for it according to ancient usage. 
Caesar, however, demanded what had been decreed him, and 
asserted that unless they kept their word, he would not part 
with his army. A decree of the senate accordingly declared 
him a public enemy. 

Provoked by these doings, Caesar resolved to secure by 
war the rewards of military success. The first scene of action 
in the civil war was Italy, whose strongholds Pompey had 
occupied with light garrisons. . . . The war would have 
been finished without bloodshed, could Caesar have surprised 
Pompey at Brundisium. This he would have done, had not 
Pompey escaped by night from the besieged harbor. Dis- 
honorable to relate ! he who had recently been at the head 
of the senate, the arbiter of peace and war, fled across the 
sea, over which he had once triumphed. This voyage he 
made in a single vessel, which in crossing was shattered and 
almost wrecked. No sooner was Pompey driven from Italy 
than the senate was forced from the city, which Caesar then 
entered. . . . But as Fortune now called together the pair 
of combatants, who were destined to contend for the empire 
of the world, Pompey fixed on Epirus for the seat of war, 
and Caesar was not slow in meeting him. 

When everything was ready on both sides, they waited 
some time in profound silence, hesitating, looking steadfastly 
at each other, each expecting the other to begin the battle. 
They were stricken with sorrow for the great host, for never 



A Decisive Battle 



213 



before had such large Roman armies confronted the same 
danger together. . . . Reason purged the mad passion for 
glory, estimated the peril, and exposed the cause of the war, 
showing how two men, contending with each other for 
supremacy, had put themselves in a position where the one 
who should be vanquished could no longer hold even the 
humblest place, and how so great a number of the nobility 
incurred the same risk on their account. 

Pompey gave the signal first and Caesar reechoed. 
Straightway the trumpets, of which there were many among 
so great a host, aroused the soldiers with their inspiring 
blasts, and the standard-bearers and officers put themselves 
in motion and encouraged their men. . . . 

Now as they came nearer together, they first shot arrows 
and threw stones. Then the opposing cavalry forces, who 
were a little in advance of the infantry, charged each other. 
Those of Pompey prevailed and began to flank the tenth 
legion. Caesar then gave the signal to the cohorts in 
ambush, and they, starting up suddenly, advanced to meet 
the cavalry ; with spears elevated they aimed at the faces 
of the riders. These knights could not endure the enemy's 
savagery or the blows on their mouths and eyes, but fled in 
disorder. Thereupon Caesar's men, who had just now 
been afraid of being surrounded, fell upon the flank 
of Pompey's infantry, which was denuded of its cavalry 
support. 

The tenth legion under Caesar himself surrounded Pom- 
pey's left wing, — now deprived of cavalry, — and assailed 
it with javelins in flank ; but it stood immovable till finally 
the assailants threw it into disorder, routed it, and made a 
beginning of victory. In the rest of the field killing and 
wounding of all kinds were going on, but no cry came from 
the scene of carnage, no lamentation from the wounded or 
the dying, only sighs and groans from those who were honor- 
ably falling. 

The rest of Pompey's legions, seeing the disaster of the 



Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
ii. 78. 



The crisis of 
the fight. 



Czesar wins. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
ii. 79. 



214 



The Revolution 



" stand 
without 
fear." 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
ii. 80. 



Pompey 
flees. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
ii. 81. 



The end of 
Pompey. 

Plutarch, 
CcEsar, 48. 



left wing, retired slowly at first, in good order, and still re- 
sisted as well as they could. But when, flushed with victory, 
the enemy pressed upon them, they turned in flight. That 
they might not rally, and that this might be the end of the 
whole war and not of one battle merely, Caesar prudently 
sent heralds everywhere among the ranks to order the 
victors to spare their own countrymen and to smite only the 
auxiliaries. The heralds drew near the retreating enemy 
and told them to stand still without fear. As this proc- 
lamation was passed from man to man, they halted, and 
the phrase "stand without fear" began to be passed as a 
sort of watchword among Pompey's soldiers ; for being 
Italians, they were clad in the same style as Caesar's men 
and spoke the same language. Passing by them, accord- 
ingly, Csesar's men fell upon the auxiliaries, who were unable 
to resist, and made great slaughter among them. 

When Pompey saw his men retreating, he became dazed 
and retired slowly to his camp, and on reaching his tent, 
he sat down speechless. ... So they fell upon the camp 
and assaulted it with the utmost disdain for the defenders. 
When Pompey learned of this attack, he started up from his 
strange silence, exclaiming, "What! in our very camp?" 
After saying this, he changed his clothing, mounted a horse, 
and fled with a few friends, and did not draw rein till he 
reached Larissa early the next morning. So Caesar estab- 
lished himself in Pompey's camp as he had promised to 
do when he was preparing for the battle, and ate Pom- 
pey's supper, and the whole army feasted at Pompey's 
expense. 

(Pompey fled to Egypt, where he was killed by the ad- 
visers of the Egyptian king.) Arriving in Alexandria after 
the death of Pompey, Caesar turned away from Theodotus, 
who brought him his enemy's head, but he received Pom- 
pey's seal ring and wept over it. All the companions and 
intimate friends of Pompey, who were rambling about the 
country and had been taken by the king, Caesar treated 



Honors to Caesar 



215 



well and gained over to himself. He wrote to his friends 
in Rome that the chief and sweetest pleasure which he 
derived from his victory was to be able to pardon any of 
those citizens who had fought against him. 

After ending the civil wars Csesar hastened to Rome, 
honored and feared as no one had ever been before. All 
kinds of honors were devised for his gratification without 
stint, even such as were more than human, — sacrifices, 
games, statues in all the temples and public places, by 
every tribe, by all the provinces, and by the kings in alliance 
with Rome. His portrait was painted in various forms, and 
in some cases crowned with oak as that of the saviour of his 
country. . . . He was proclaimed the Father of his Coun- 
try and chosen dictator for life, and his person was declared 
sacred and inviolable. It was decreed that he should trans- 
act business on a throne of ivory and gold ; that he should 
always perform his sacerdotal functions in triumphal dress ; 
that each year the city should celebrate the days on which 
he had won his victories ; that every five years the priests 
and Vestal virgins should offer up public prayers for his 
safety ; and that the magistrates immediately after their 
inauguration should take an oath not to oppose any of 
Coesar's decrees. In honor of his gens the name of the 
month Quintilis was changed to July. Many temples were 
decreed to him as to a god, and one was dedicated in 
common to him and the goddess Clemency, who were 
represented as clasping hands. 

Thus while they feared his power they besought his mercy. 
Some proposed to give him the title of king, but when he 
learned of their purpose he forbade it with threats, for he 
said it was an inauspicious name by reason of the curse of 
their ancestors. He dismissed the pretorian cohorts which 
had served as his body-guard during the wars, and he showed 
himself with the ordinary public attendants only. . . . 

He received all the honors conferred upon him excepting 
the ten-year consulship. As consuls for the ensuing year he 



47 B.C. 



Honors to 
Caesar. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
ii. 106. 



Cf. p. IS 



His 
clemency. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
ii. 107. 

(Pretorian 
cohorts, com- 
panies of 
soldiers who 
guarded the 
pratorium, 
or general's 
tent.) 



2l6 



The Revolution 



The 
conspiracy. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
ii. 113. 

(They were 
prsetors as 
well as sena- 
tors, and 
their service 
as magis- 
trates might 
be needed at 
the meeting.) 



lb. 114. 



designated himself and Antony, his master of horse, and 
he appointed Lepidus master of horse in place of Antony. 
Lepidus at this time was governor of Spain, but was admin- 
istering his province through friends. Caesar recalled all 
exiles excepting those who had been banished for some 
grave offence. He pardoned his enemies, and many of those 
who had fought against him he forthwith advanced to the 
yearly magistracies or to the command of provinces and of 
armies. The wearied people therefore especially hoped he 
would restore the republic to them, as Sulla did after he 
had grasped the same power. But in this respect they were 
disappointed. 

While the talk about the kingship was going on, and just 
before a session of the senate, Cassius met Brutus, and seiz- 
ing him by the hand, said, " What shall we do in the senate- 
house if Caesar's flatterers propose a decree to make him 
king?" " I shall not be there," Brutus replied. Then Cas- 
sius asked him further, " What if we are summoned there as 
praetors, what shall we do then, my good Brutus ? " "I will 
defend my country to the death," he answered. Cassius 
embraced him, saying, "Which of the nobility will you 
allow to share your thoughts?". . . Thus did they disclose 
to each other what they had been privately thinking about 
for a long time. Each of them tested those of their own 
and of Caesar's friends whom they considered the most 
courageous of either faction. 

When they thought they had a sufficient number, and that 
it would not be wise to divulge the plot to any more, they 
pledged each other without oaths or sacrifices, yet no one 
changed his mind or betrayed the secret. They sought a 
time and place. Time was pressing because Caesar was to 
depart on his campaign four days hence and would then 
have a body-guard of soldiers. They chose the senate as 
the place, believing that though all the senators did not 
know of it beforehand, they would join heartily when they 
saw the deed. 



Death of Cssar 



217 



The conspirators had left Trebouius, one of their number, 
to engage Antony in conversation at the door. The others 
with concealed daggers stood like friends around Caesar as 
he sat in his chair. Then one of them, Tillius Cimber, 
came up in front of him and petitioned him for the recall 
of his brother, who had been banished. When Caesar 
answered that the matter must be deferred, Cimber seized 
hold of his purple robe as though still urging the petition, 
and pulled it away so as to expose his neck ; at the same 
time he exclaimed, "Friends, what are you waiting for?" 
Then Casca, who was standing over Caesar's head, first drove 
a dagger at his throat, but missed the aim and wounded 
him in the breast. Caesar snatched his toga from Cimber, 
seized Casca's hand, sprang from his chair, turned round 
and hurled Casca with great violence. While Caesar was in 
this position, another one stabbed him with a dagger in the 
side . . . Cassius wounded him in the face, Brutus smote 
him in the thigh, and Bucolianus between the shoulder-blades. 

With rage and outcries Caesar turned now upon one and 
now upon another like a wild animal, but after receiving the 
wound from Brutus he despaired, and veiling himself with 
his robe, he fell prostrate at the foot of Pompey's statue. 
After he had fallen they continued their attack till he re- 
ceived twenty- three wounds. 

When the will of Ceesar was opened, and the people 
learned that he had given a handsome present to every 
Roman, and they saw the body as it was carried through the 
Forum, disfigured with wounds, the multitude no longer 
kept within the bounds of propriety and order, but taking 
from the Forum benches, lattices, and tables, they heaped 
them about the corpse, and set fire to the pile and burned 
the body on the spot. Then seizing the flaming pieces of 
wood, they ran to the houses of the conspirators to fire 
them, and others hurried about the city in all directions in 
search of the murderers to seize and tear them to pieces. 

He died in the fifty-sixth year of his age, and was ranked 



The conspi- 
rators kill 
Ceesar, 

44 B.C. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
ii. 117. 



The funeral. 

Plutarch, 
CcBsar, 68. 



2l8 



The Revolution 



His spirit. 

Suetonius, 
Julius 
CcBsar, 88. 



Plutarch, 
CcBsar, 69. 



among the gods, not only by a formal decree but also in 
the belief of the people. For during the first games which 
Augustus, his heir, consecrated to his memory, a comet 
blazed seven days together, rising always about eleven 
o'clock ; and the people thought it was the soul of Csesar 
now received into heaven. 

That mighty superhuman spirit, which had accompanied 
him through life, followed him even in death ; the avenger 
of his murder, it ran through every land and sea, to hunt 
and track down his assassins till not one of them was left — 
it pursued even those who in any way whatever had put 
their hand to the deed or had shared in the plot. 



STUDIES 

1. Write a biography of Gaius Julius Ctesar including a description 
of his character. What admirable qualities had he as a young man ? 
How does his treatment of the pirates illustrate his character ? how 
his conduct as consul ? What is Plutarch's estimate of him as a 
general ? 

2. Describe Gaul. What were the leading states (or tribes) of the 
country ? Whom did Ctesar favor, and with what result ? 

3. Describe the druids, their customs, and beliefs. 

4. What was the condition of the common people in Gaul ? of the 
family (cf. ch. i) ? 

5. From the material given by Caesar in this chapter and by Tacitus 
{Rome, pp. 294-296) write a paper on the Manners, Customs, and In- 
stitutions of the Germans. Compare the Germans (i) with the Gauls 
(cf ch. i), (2) with the early Italians {Rome, pp. 2-4; Ancient His- 
tory, p. 255 f.). 

6. Describe the animals of the Hercynian Forest. Is Csesar's de- 
scription perfectly accurate ? 

7. Explain the origin of the First Triumvirate. How did Csesar 
and Pompey become rivals ? Compare these two men in character 
and ability. 

8. Give an account of the battle of Pharsalus and of the death of 
Pompey. 

9. What honors did Csesar receive ? How does the manner in 
which the Romans treated him illustrate their character ? Did his 
assassination benefit either Rome or the cause for which the conspira- 
tors stood ? If so, in what way ? 



CHAPTER VIII [concluded) 

The Revolution — (2) Pompey, Caesar, and 
Octavius 

(79-27 B.C.) 
OCTAVIUS 



(Octavius, afterward named) Augustus, was born in the 
consulship of Marcus TulHus Cicero artd Gaius Antonius, a 
little before sunrise on the ninth of the calends of October, on 
Oxhead Street, Palatine Hill, in the place where now stands 
a chapel built a little after his death and dedicated to him. 

To this day his nursery may be seen in a villa belonging 
to the family, in the suburbs of Velitrse. It is a very small 
room, much like a pantry. Into this place no person dares 
intrude unless necessary, and then one enters with great 
devotion, for a belief has long prevailed that those who 
rashly intrude are seized with great horror and fear. This 
belief has recently been confirmed by a remarkable incident. 
A new inhabitant of the house took up his lodging in that 
apartment, either by chance or to try the truth of the report. 
In the course of the night, however, a few hours after retir- 
ing, he was thrown out by some sudden violence, he knew 
not what, and was found stupefied, lying in his coverlet in 
front of the chamber door. 

When only four years old, Octavius lost his father ; and 
in his twelfth year he pronounced a funeral oration in 
praise of his grandmother Julia. Four years later, when 
Octavius put on the dress of manhood, Caesar in his triumph 

219 



His birth. 

Suetonius, 
Augustus, 5. 

(Augustus is 
a title given 
Octavius by 
the senate.) 



lb. 6. 



His early 
life. 

Suetonius, 
Augustus, 8. 



220 



The Revolution 



Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
iii. 9. 



The heir of 
Caesar, 
44 B.C. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
iii. II. 

(As the 
adopted son 
of Coesar, 
Octavius 
received the 
name Gaius 
Julius Caesar 
Octavianus.) 



Octavianus 
at Rome. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
iii. 12. 

Suetonius, 
Augustus, 10, 



over Africa honored him with several miUtary rewards, 
though on account of his youth he had taken no part in the 
war. 

Octavius was the son of the daughter of Caesar's sister. 
He was appointed master of Caesar's horse for one year, for 
Caesar at times made this a yearly office, passing it round 
among his friends. While still a young man, he was sent by 
Caesar to Apollonia on the Adriatic coast to be educated and 
trained in the art of war, that he might accompany Caesar 
on his expeditions. . . . 

At the end of a six months' sojourn in Apollonia, he re- 
ceived news one evening that Caesar had been killed in the 
senate-house by those who were dearest to the dictator, and 
who were at the time the most powerful persons under 
him. 

When more accurate information about the murder and 
the public grief had reached him, together with copies of 
Caesar's will and the decrees of the senate, his relatives still 
cautioned him, as the adopted son and heir, to beware of 
Caesar's enemies. They even advised him to renounce the 
adoption together with the inheritance. To do this, how- 
ever, and not to avenge Caesar, Octavius thought would be 
disgraceful. So he went to Brundisium, first sending in ad- 
vance to see that none of the murderers had laid any trap 
for him. When the army advanced to meet him there and 
received him as Caesar's son, he took courage, offered sacri- 
fice, and immediately assumed the name of Caesar. 

Encouraged by the number of persons who were joining 
him, and by the glory of Caesar, and by the good will of all 
toward himself, he journeyed to Rome with a notable crowd, 
which like a torrent grew larger and larger every day. 

Immediately after his return from Apollonia, he formed 
the plan of taking forcible and unexpected measures against 
Brutus and Cassius ; but they, foreseeing the danger, made 
their escape. Thereupon he resolved to proceed against 
them in their absence by an appeal to the laws, and to im- 



Octavianus 



221 



peach them for the murder. . . . And that he might carry 
into effect his other plans with greater authority, he declared 
himself a candidate for the vacant place of a tribune of the 
people who happened to die at that time. This he did 
although he was of a patrician family, and had not yet been 
in the senate. But the consul Mark Antony, from whom 
he had expected the greatest assistance, opposed him in 
his suit, and even refused to do him so much as common 
justice, unless given a large bribe. 

Presently news came to Octavius, through his secret He gathers 
agents, that the army at Brundisium and the colonized sol- ^^ army, 
diers were incensed against Antony for neglecting to avenge ^f^l/^u^'ars 
the murder of Caesar, and that they would assist Octavius to i"- 4°. 
do so if they could. For this reason Antony set out for 
Brundisium. As Octavius feared lest Antony might return 
with the army and find him unprotected, he went to Cam- 
pania with money to enlist the veterans whom his adoptive 
father had colonized in the towns of that region. 

He first brought over Calatia and next Casilinum, two 
towns situated on either side of Capua ; to each man he 
gave five hundred drachmas. He collected about ten thou- 
sand men, who were not fully armed and not mustered in 
regular cohorts, but who served merely as a body-guard under 
one banner. . , . The senate now commissioned him with 
the rank of praetor to command the troops he had gathered, 
and in connection with Hirtius and Pansa, who had accepted jgs"^' ^' 
the consulship, to carry aid to Decimus Brutus. In a 
three months' campaign and in two battles he put an end to 
the war. Antony writes that in the earlier of these two 
fights he ran away, and two days afterward made his appear- 
ance without his general's cloak or horse. In the second 
battle, however, it is certain that he performed the part not 
only of a general, but of a soldier ; for in the heat of the 
battle, when the standard-bearer of his legion was severely 
wounded, he took the eagle upon his shoulders, and carried 
it a long time. 



Suetonius, 
Augustus, lo. 



2 22 The Revolution 

Pansa's Meantime Pansa was dying of his wound. Summoning 

revelation. Qctavius to his side, he said : 

avinvars " ^ loved your father as I did myself, yet I could not 

i"- 75- avenge his death, nor could I fail to unite with the senators, 

whom you have also done well to obey, although you have 
an army. 

"At first they feared you and Antony, and especially the 
latter, as he seemed to be the one most ambitious to fill the 
role of Caesar ; and they were delighted with your dissen- 
sions, for they thought you would naturally destroy each 
other. 

" When they saw you the master of an army, they com- 
plimented you, as a young man, with specious and inexpen- 
sive honors. But when they discovered that you were 
prouder and more self-restrained in respect to honors than 
they had supposed, and especially when you declined the 
magistracy that your army offered you, they were alarmed, 
and they appointed you to the command with us in order 
that we might draw your two experienced legions away 
from you ; for they hoped that when one of you was van- 
quished, the other would be weakened and isolated, and 
so the whole of Caesar's party would be effaced and that 
of Pompey restored to power. This is their chief aim. 
Why the " Hirtius and I did what we were ordered to do, until we 

sec^e IS could humble Antony, who was much too arrogant ; but we 
Appian intended when he was vanquished to bring him into alliance 

Civii^ Wars, with you and thus to pay the debt of gratitude we owed to 
Caesar's friendship, — the only payment that could be ser- 
viceable to Caesar's party hereafter. It was not possible to 
communicate this to you before, but now that Antony is 
vanquished and Hirtius dead, and I am about to pay the 
debt of nature, the time for speaking is come, not that you 
may be grateful to me after my death, but that you, born 
to a happy destiny, as your deeds proclaim, may know 
what is for your own interest, and know that the course 
taken by Hirtius and me was a matter of necessity. 



iii. 76. 



I 



A Cruel League 



223 



"The army which you yourself gave us should most 
properly be given back to you and I do give it. If you 
can take and hold the new levies, I will give those also. 
If they are too much in awe of the senate — for their 
officers were sent to act as spies upon us — and if the 
task would be an invidious one, and would create troubles 
for you prematurely, the quaestor Torquatus will take com- 
mand of them." 

After speaking thus, he transferred the new levies to the 
qusestor, and expired. The quaestor transferred them to 
Decimus as the senate had ordered. Octavius sent the 
bodies of Hirtius and Pansa with honors to Rome, where 
they received a public funeral. 

When Antony even alone was a hindrance to the public 
quiet and a trouble to the state, Lepidus joined with him 
was as one fire to another. What could Octavius then do 
against two armies? He was obliged to join in a most 
cruel league with their leaders. The views of all three 
were different. The desire of wealth, of which there was 
a fair prospect from a disturbance of the state, animated 
Lepidus ; the hope of taking vengeance on those who 
had declared him an enemy instigated Antony ; the death 
of his father unavenged, while Cassius and Brutus lived, 
offensive to his manes, actuated Octavius. 

With a view to a confederacy for these objects, the three 
generals made peace with one another. . . . Following an 
evil precedent, they formed a triumvirate ; and after subdu- 
ing the state by force of arms, they revived the proscriptions 
which Sulla had introduced. Their fury reached no fewer 
than a hundred and forty senators. Even many who had 
fied to various parts of the world were put to death in a 
way so shocking, so cruel, and so mournful, that no one can 
sufficiently lament the brutality. 

Antony proscribed Lucius Caesar, his own uncle ; Lepidus 
proscribed Lucius Paulus, his own brother. It was now a 
common practice to expose the heads of the slain on the 



Disposition 
of the 
legions. 



The Second 
Triumvi- 
rate, 43-27 

B.C. 

Rome, p. 370. 
Florus iv. 6. 



The pro- 
scriptions. 



224 



The Revolution 



Brutus and 
Cassias. 

Florus iv. 7. 



The battle 
of Philippi, 

42 B.C. 

Appian, 
Civil Wars, 
iv. 112. 



rostra at Rome ; nevertheless the city could not refrain 
from tears when the head of Cicero, severed from the body, 
was seen on the very rostra he had made his own, . . . 
These atrocities proceeded from the Usts of Antony and 
Lepidus. Octavius was content with proscribing the assas- 
sins of his father ; their deaths, had they been fewer, might 
have been thought just. 

To escape the eye of public grief, Brutus and Cassius 
withdrew into Syria and Macedonia, — the very provinces 
assigned to them by Caesar whom they had slain. In this 
way they delayed rather than smothered vengeance for 
Caesar. 

After the triumvirs had regulated the government rather 
as they could than as they should, they left Lepidus to guard 
the city, while Octavius and Antony prepared for war against 
Cassius and Brutus. Having collected vast forces, these two 
senatorial leaders had taken post on the same ground that 
had been so fatal to Gnseus Pompey. 

As the camp was in a strong position, a few men only 
guarded it ; for this reason Antony easily overcame them. 
The soldiers of Cassius outside the camp were already 
worsted, and when they saw that the camp was taken, they 
scattered in disorderly flight. As Cassius was driven from 
his fortifications and no longer had a camp to go to, he 
ascended the hill to Philippi and took a survey of the situ- 
ation. On account of the dust he could not see accurately 
nor could he see everything ; but discovering that his own 
camp was captured, he ordered Pindarus, his shield-bearer, 
to draw his sword and kill him. While Pindarus delayed, 
a messenger ran up and said that Brutus had won on the other 
wing and was ravaging the enemy's camp. Cassius merely 
said, " Tell him I pray his victory may be complete." Then 
turning to Pindarus, he said, " What are you waiting for? 
Why do you not deliver me from my shame? " Then as he 
presented his throat, Pindarus killed him. 

(Some time before the battles at Philippi) Brutus was 



Cssar's Ghost 



225 



lying by night in his tent, as was his custom, not asleep, but 
thinking about the future ; for it is said that of all generals 
he was least given to sleep, and had naturally the power of 
keeping awake longer than any other person. Thinking that 
he heard a noise near the door, he looked toward the light 
of the lamp, which was already sinking down, and saw a 
frightful vision of a man of unusual size and savage counte- 
nance. At first he was startled ; but observing that the figure 
neither moved nor spoke, but was standing silent by the bed, 
he asked, "Who are you?" The phantom replied, "Thy 
evil spirit, Brutus ; and thou shalt see me at Philippi." 
Thereupon Brutus boldly replied, " I shall see " ; and the 
spirit disappeared. ... As he was preparing to fight the 
second battle, the phantom appeared again by night, without 
speaking to him ; but Brutus, perceiving his fate, threw him- 
self headlong into the midst of danger. He did not fall in 
battle, however, but when the rout began, he fled to a steep 
place, where he threw himself on his bare sword, a friend 
gave strength to the blow, and he died. 

After the death of Cassius and Brutus, Octavius returned 
to Italy. Antony proceeded to Asia, where he met Cleo- 
patra, queen of Egypt. . . . 

After his expedition against the Parthians, he was dis- 
gusted with war and lived at ease. In this period he fell in 
love with Cleopatra, and as if his affairs were quite prosper- 
ous, he enjoyed himself in the queen's company. 

The Egyptian woman demanded of the drunken general, 
as the price of her love, nothing less than the Roman em- 
pire. This gift Antony promised her, as though the Romans 
were easier to conquer than the Parthians. He therefore 
aspired to the sovereignty, not secretly, but forgetting his 
country, his name, toga, and fasces, and degenerating wholly 
in thought, feeling, and dress, into a monster. In his hand 
was a golden sceptre, and a simitar by his side. His robe 
was of purple clasped with enormous jewels ; and he wore a 
diadem that he might dally with the queen as a king. 
Q 



Brutus sees 
the Ghost of 
Caesar. 



Plutarch, 
CcBsar, 69. 



Antony and 
Cleopatra. 

Appian, 
Civ// H 'ars, 

V. I. 

Florus iv. II. 



(Or scimitar, 
an Oriental 
sword.) 



226 



The Revolution 



The battle 
off Actium, 

31 B.C. 



The end of 
Antony and 
Cleopatra. 



At the first report of these proceedings, Caesar (Octa- 
vianus) had crossed the sea from Brundisiuni to meet the 
approaching war. . . . We had more than four hundred 
vessels, the enemy about two hundred, but the size of the 
enemy's ships made up for their inferiority in number. With 
from six to nine banks of oars, mounted with towers and 
high decks, they moved along like castles and cities ; the 
seas groaned under them and the wind was fatigued. 

Their great size, however, was their destruction. Cesar's 
vessels had from three to six banks of oars but no more. 
Ready for all that necessity required, whether for charging, 
retreating, or wheeling round, they attacked several of those 
heavy vessels at a time. In these encounters Caesar's men 
hurled missiles and rammed with the beaks of their ships ; 
they threw fire-brands into the enemy's vessels and dispersed 
them at pleasure. The greatness of the enemy's force was 
shown by nothing so much as by what happened after the 
victory. Shattered in the engagement, the vast fleet spread 
the spoils of Arabs, Sabseans, and a thousand other Asiatic 
nations over the whole face of the deep. The waves, driven 
onward by the winds, continually threw up purple and gold 
on the shore. 

The queen began the flight ; she made off into the open 
sea with her gilded vessel and sails of purple. Antony 
immediately followed. 

But Caesar pursued hard on their track. . . . First Antony 
raised his sword against himself. The queen, falUng at 
Caesar's feet, tempted his eyes in vain, for her charms were 
too weak to overcome the prince's self-restraint. Her suit 
was not for life, which he offered her, but for a portion of 
the kingdom. As she despaired of obtaining this from 
Caesar, and saw that she was reserved for his triumph, she 
took advantage of the negligence of her guard, and with- 
drew into a mausoleum, as the sepulchre of a king is called. 
There after putting on her best apparel . . , she placed her- 
self by her dear Antony in a cofiin filled with rich perfumes. 



Belief in the Gods 



227 



and applying serpents to her veins, she died a death hke 
sleep. 

POETRY OF THE AGE 

Tell my Sister 

Soldier, that fliest from thy comrade's fall, 

Though weak and wounded 'neath Perusia's wall; 

Heed not my dying groan, nor weep for me. 

For I am but a soUlier Hke to thee. 

But to my sister the sad tale deplore — 

So mayst thou glad thy parent's heart once more — 

How Gallus 'scaped from Ccesar's armed bands. 

To fall unhonored here by felon's hands. 

If o'er the Tuscan wold she haply sec 

Some scattered bones, 'tis all she'll find of me. 



"I wish I 
had died in 
battle." 

Propertius i. 
21. 

(Perusia, 
Etruria, was 
besieged by 
Caesar 
Octavianus, 
41-40 B.C.) 



The Origin of Belief in the Gods 

And now what cause has spread over great nations the 
worship of the divinities of the gods, and filled towns with 
altars, and led to the performance of stated rites, — rites 
now in fashion on solemn occasions and in solemn places, 
from which even now is implanted in mortals a shuddering 
awe which raises new temples of the gods over the whole 
earth, and prompts men to crowd them on festive days, all 
this is not so difficult to explain in words. 

In sooth the races of mortal men would see in waking 
mind glorious forms, would see them in sleep of yet more 
marvellous size of body. To these forms they would attribute 
sense, because they seemed to move their limbs and to utter 
lofty words suitable to their glorious aspect and surpassing 
powers. And men would attribute to them life everlasting, 
because their face would ever appear and their form abide ; 
yes, and yet without all this reasoning, because men would 
not believe that beings possessed of such powers could 
lightly be overcome by any force. They would believe such 
beings to be preeminent in bliss, because none of them was 
ever troubled with fear of death, and because at the same 



"Why build 
altars and 
temples? " 

Lucretius, 
0)1 the Na- 
nre of the 
World, s. 



"Our 
religion 
rests (i) on 
dreams, 



228 



The Revolution 



(2) on 
observing 
the activi- 
ties of 
nature." 



"Why 
do we wor- 
ship?" 



" Doubts 
that trouble 
us." 



time in sleep persons would see them perform many miracles, 
without feeling fatigue from the effort. 

Again men would see the system of heaven and the differ- 
ent seasons of the year come round in regular succession, 
and could not find out by what causes this was done ; there- 
fore they would seek a refuge in handing over all things to 
the gods, and in supposing all things to be guided by their 
nod. And they placed in heaven the abodes and realms of 
the gods, because night and moon are seen to roll through 
heaven, — moon, day, and night, and night's austere con- 
stellations, and night-wandering meteors of the sky, and 
flying bodies of flame, clouds, sun, rains, snow, winds, light- 
nings, hail, and rapid rumblings, and loud threatful thunder- 
claps. 

O hapless race of men, when they charged the gods with 
such acts and coupled with them bitter wrath ! what groan- 
ings did they then beget for themselves, what wounds for 
us, what tears for their children's children ! No act is it of 
piety to be often seen, with veiled head, to look to a stone 
and approach every altar and fall prostrate on the ground 
and spread out the palms before the statues of the gods and 
sprinkle the altars with much blood of beasts and link vow 
on vow, but rather to be able to view all things with mind 
at peace. 

For when we turn our gaze on the heavenly quarters of 
the great upper world and ether, fast above the glittering 
stars, and direct our thoughts to the courses of the sun and 
moon, then into our breasts burdened with other ills, that 
fear as well begins to exalt its reawakened head, the fear 
that wp may haply find the power of the gods to be unlimited, 
able to wheel the bright stars in their unvaried motion ; for 
lack of power to solve the question troubles the mind with 
doubts, whether there was ever a birth-time of the world, 
and whether likewise there is to be any end ; how far the 
walls of the world can endure this strain of restless motion ; 
or whether gifted by the grace of the gods with an everlasting 



Origin of Music 



229 



existence, they may glide on through a never-ending tract 
of time and defy the strong powers of immeasurable ages. 

Again who is there whose mind does not shrink into itself 
with fear of the gods, whose limbs do not cower with terror, 
when the parched earth rocks with the appalhng thunder- 
stroke and rattlings run through the great heaven? Do not 
peoples and nations quake, and proud monarchs shrink into 
themselves, smitten with fear of the gods, lest for any foul 
transgression or overweening word the heavy time of reckon- 
ing has arrived at its fulness? When too the utmost fury of 
the headstrong wind passes over the sea, and sweeps over 
its waters does not the commander of the fleet, together 
with his mighty legions and elephants, draw near with 
vows, to seek the mercy of the gods and ask in prayer with 
fear and trembling a lull in the winds, and propitious gales? 
But all in vain, for often caught up in the furious hurricane, 
he is borne none the less to the shoals of death ; so con- 
stantly does some hidden power trample on human grandeur, 
and is seen to tread under its heel, and make sport for itself, 
the renowned rods and cruel axes. 

Again when the whole earth rocks under their feet, and 
towns tumble with the shock, or doubtfully threaten to fall, 
what wonder that mortal men abase themselves and make 
over to the gods, in things here on earth, high prerogatives 
and marvellous powers, sufficient to govern all things ? 



Religious 
fear. 



Mankind's First Music 

Imitating with the mouth the clear notes of birds was in 
use, and gave pleasure to the ear, long before men were 
able to sing in tune smooth-running verses. And the whis- 
tlings of the zephyr through the hollow reeds first taught 
peasants to blow into hollow stalks. Then step by step they 
learned sweet plaintive ditties, which the pipe pours forth 
when pressed by the fingers of the players — heard through 
pathless woods and forests and lawns, through the unfre- 



An imitation 
of nature. 



230 



The Revolution 



quented haunts of shepherds and abodes of unearthly calm. 
These things would soothe and gratify their minds whe^ they 
were sated with food ; for then all things of this kind are 
welcome. 

Often therefore stretched in groups on the soft grass be- 
side a stream of water, under the boughs of a high tree, they 
at no great cost would pleasantly refresh their bodies, — above 
all when the weather smiled and the seasons of the year 
painted the green grass with flowers. Then went round the 
jest, the tale, the peals of merry laughter ; for the peasant 
muse was then in its glory ; then frolic mirth would prompt 
to entwine head and shoulders with garlands plaited with 
flowers and leaves, and to advance in the dance out of step, 
and move the Hmbs clumsily and with clumsy foot beat 
mother earth ; this would cause smiles and peals of merry 
laughter, because all these things then, from their greater 
novelty, were in high repute. 



" Don't 
smile to 
show your 
teeth." 

Catullus, 39. 
(A funeral 
pile.) 



The Man with White Teeth 

Because Egnatius' teeth are nicely white, 

To grin and show them is his sole delight. 

If haply at some trial he appear, 

Where eloquence commands the gushing tear, 

He grins. — If, at a pile, the duteous son, 

The childless mother weeps, for ever gone, 

He grins. — In short, whate'er the time or place, 

Do as he may, the grin still marks his face : 

'Tis his disease; and speaking as I feel, 

I cannot call it decent or genteel. 



" Is my 
farm at 
Tibur or in 
Sabina? " 

Catullus, 44. 



To My Farm 
(Complaining of Sextius' Trashy Oration) 
Whether, my farm, the Sabine bounds 
Or Tibur hold thy peaceful grounds; 

— For those who love me like a friend 
Call thee of Tibur; those who come 
To vex my pride, with any sum 

That thou art Sabine will contend. — 



To my Farm 231 

But whether that, or truly classed 

'Mong Tibur's lands, well pleased I've passed 

Some days in thy sequestered seat. 
Thou from my loaded breast hast driven 
A cough my stomach's sins had given, 

Deserved by many a costly treat. 

And when I plainly hoped to feed 

As Sextius' guest, my host would read 

His speech 'gainst Attius, made of old. 

'Twas full of poison and disease ; 

It made me shiver, made me sneeze, "His speech 

And gave me a bad cough and cold. 2^,^®..™® * 

^ & cold." 

At length I fled into thy breast; 
And there with medicine and rest 

Have cured myself in little time : 
So now in health and spirits gay. 
My warmest thanks to thee I pay. 

Who thus hast done away my crime. 

And when I e'er again shall go 

To hear his works, may they bestow 

Their cough and cold, not on my head, 
But upon Sextius' self, who ne'er 
Asks me to sup, but when the fare 

Is hearing his own nonsense read ! 

STUDIES 

1. Give an account of the early life of Octavius. How did Cffisar 
regard him ? 

2. After Ctesar's death, how did Octavius (now Caesar Octavianus) 
win an influential place at Rome ? What traits of character does his 
conduct show ? 

3. What are the chief facts said to have been divulged to him by 
Pansa ? How did this revelation influence his policy ? 

4. Explain the origin and policy of the Second Triumvirate. Were 
the new proscriptions wise ? Was the connection of Qesar Octavianus 
with these proceedings blameless ? 

5. Why did Cassius commit suicide ? Did Brutus really see a ghost, 
or was the trouble in his own mind ? Is there any sign that he was 



232 The Revolution 

sorry for having helped kill Caesar ? Were the suicides of Cassius and 
Brutus beneficial to Rome ? 

6. Describe the battle of Actium. What resulted from the victory 
of Caesar Octavianus ? 

7. How did the leading Romans of the last period of the repubhc 
differ from those who lived in the time of the Punic Wars ? 

8. Explain the poem, " Tell my Sister." Who was the author (cf. 
ch. i) ? 

9. Who was Lucretius (cf. ch. i) ? What in his opinion was the 
origin of the religion of his countrymen ? Does he consider their 
religion good or bad ? What doubts troubled his countrymen ? What 
caused religious fear ? What in his opinion was the first music of 
mankind ? 

10. Who was Catullus (cf. ch. i) ? What was wrong about the 
smile of Egnatius ? Why did the poet prefer Tibur to the Sabine 
country ? What quality of his friend's oration gave the poet a cold ? 
How did he recover from it ? 



CHAPTER IX 



The Julian Emperors 



AUGUSTUS 



Ode to Augustus 

How shall the P'athers, how 

Shall the Quiritians, O Augustus, now, 

Intent their honors in no niggard wise 
Upon thee to amass. 
By storied scroll, or monumental brass 

Thy virtues eternise? 

O thou who art, wherever shines the sun 

On lands where man a dweUing-place hath won, 

Of princes greatest far. 
Thee the Vindelici, who ever spurned 
Our Latin rule, of late have learned 

To know supreme in war ! 



Horace, 
Odes, iv. 14. 

(Quiritians, 
Quirites, p. 
38.) 



(Vindelici, 
a tribe on 
the Danube, 
conquered 
by Drusus 
and Tibe- 
rius.) 



For 'twas with soldiers thou hadst formed, 

That Drusus, greatly resolute. 
On many a hard-worn field o'erthrew the wild 

Genaunians, and the Breuni fleet of foot. 
And all their towering strongholds stormed, 
On Alps tremendous piled. 



(Genaunians 
and Breuni, 
tribes of 
Rastia, a 
country 
north of 
Italy.) 



Anon to deadliest fight 

The elder Nero pressed. 

And by auspicious omens blessed, 
Scattered the giant Rretian hordes in flight, 

Himself that glorious day. 

The foremost in the fray. 

233 



(Tiberius 

Claudius 

Nerd*, 

afterward 

emperor.) 



234 



The Julian Emperors 



(Auster, the 
south wind. 
" Pleiad 
choir," a 
constella- 
tion.) 



With havoc dire did he 
O'erwhehn that banded crowd 
Of hearts in stern devotion vowed 

To die or to be free ! 
Like Auster lashing into ire 

The tameless ocean waves, when through 
The driving rack the Pleiad choir 

Flash suddenly in view, 
So furiously he dashed 

Upon his serried foes, 

And where the balefires thickest rose, 
With foaming war-steed crashed. 



(Aufidus, a 

river of 

Apulia. 

Daunus, 

mythical 

king of 

Apulia.) 



As bull-shaped Aufidus, who laves 

Apulian Daunus' realm. 
Is whirled along, when o'er his banks 
He eddies and he raves, 

Designing to o'erwhelm 
The cultured fields with deluge and dismay, 
So Claudius swept the iron ranks 

Of the barbarian host, 
And where from van to rear he clove his way, 
Along his track the mangled foemen lay, 

Nor did one squadron lost 
The lustre dim of that victorious fray. 



(Alexandria 
surrendered, 
30 B.C. A 
lustrum, 
" lustre," is 
five years.) 



(Canta- 
brians, a 
fierce 
Spanish 
tribe.) 



But thine the legions were, and thine 
The counsels, and the auspices divine. 

For on the self-same day 
That suppliant Alexandria had flung 

Her port and empty palace wide to thee. 

Did fortune, who since then through lustres three 
Had to thy banners smiling clung. 
Bring our long wars to a triumphant close. 

And for thee proudly claim 

The honor long desired, the glorious fame 
Of countless vanquished foes. 
And vanquished empires bowed in homage to thy sway ! 

Thee the Cantabrian unsubdued till now, 
The Mede, the Indian,— thee 
The Scythian roaming free. 



A Hymn of Victory 



235 



Unwedded to a home, 
With wondering awe obey, 
O mighty Caesar, thou 
Of Italy and sovereign Rome 
The present shield, the guardian, and the stay ! 
Thee Nile, who hides from mortal eyes 
The springs where he doth rise. 
Thee Ister, arrowy Tigris thee. 
Thee, too, the monster-spawning sea. 
Which round far Britain's islands breaks in foam. 
Thee Gallia, whom no form of death alarms, 
Iberia thee, through all her swarms 

Of rugged warriors hears; 
Thee the Sicambrian, who 
Delights in carnage, too. 
Now laying down his arms. 
Submissively reveres ! 



(Ister, the 
Danube.) 



(Sicam- 
brians, a 
German 
tribe.) 



After the destruction of Brutus and Cassius there was no Augustus 
longer an army of the repubUc ; (the younger) Pompey ^^^j^^^.d. 
was crushed in Sicily, Lepidus was pushed aside, Antony xacitus, 
was killed, and even the Juhan party had Caesar (Octa- Annals, i. 2. 
vianus) only to lead it. Then dropping the title of Trium- 
vir, and announcing that he was a consul, and was satisfied 
with the tribunician authority for the protection of the people, 
Augustus won over the soldiers with gifts, the populace with 
cheap corn, and all men with the sweets of repose, and so 
grew greater by degrees, while he concentrated in himself 
the functions of the senate, the magistrates, and the 
laws. 

No one opposed him ; for the boldest spirits had fallen in 
battle or in the proscription. As to the surviving nobles, the 
readier they were to be slaves, the higher they were raised 
by wealth and promotion in office ; so that, aggrandised by 
revolution, they preferred the safety of the present to the 
dangerous past. And the provinces did not dislike the con- 
dition of affairs, for they distrusted the government of the 
senate and people, because of the rivalries among the lead- 
ing men and the rapacity of the officials ; the protection. 



No opposi- 
tion. 



23< 



The Julian Emperors 



His achieve- 
ments. 

His 
triumphs. 

Augustus, 
Deeds, 4. 
(An inscrip- 
tion.) 



His censor- 
ship. 

Augustus, 
Deeds, 8. 
(Tiberius 
Cassar, after- 
ward em- 
peror. For 
lustration, 
see p. 128.) 



Gaius and 

Lucius 

Caesar. 

Augustus, 
Deeds, 14. 



Colonies. 



too, of the laws was unavailing, as they were continually 
deranged by violence, intrigue, and corruption. 

(Augustus himself tells us of his most notable deeds,) 

On account of enterprises which I, or my lieutenants 
under my auspices, brought to a successful issue by land and 
sea, the senate fifty-five times decreed a thanksgiving to 
the immortal gods. The number of days, moreover, on 
which thanksgiving was rendered in accordance with the 
decree of the senate was eight hundred and ninety. In my 
triumph nine kings or children of kings have been led before 
my chariot. When I wrote these words I had been thirteen 
times consul, and was in the thirty-seventh year of the tribu- 
nician power. 

In my fifth consulship, by order of the people and the 
senate, I increased the number of the patricians. Three 
times I have revised the list of the senators. . . . Assuming 
the consular power a third time in the consulship of Sextus 
Pompey and Sextus Apuleius, with Tiberius Caesar as col- 
league, I performed the lustration. At this lustration the 
number of Roman citizens was four millions nine hundred 
and thirty-seven thousand. By new legislation I have re- 
stored many customs of our ancestors which had begun to 
fall into disuse, and have also committed to posterity many 
examples worthy of imitation. 

My sons, the Caesars Gaius and Lucius, whom fortune 
snatched from me in their youth, the senate and people, in 
order to do me honor, designated as consuls in the fifteenth 
year of each, intending that they should enter upon that 
magistracy after five years. And the senate decreed that 
from the day on which they were introduced into the Forum 
they should share in the public counsels. Moreover the 
whole body of the Roman knights gave them the title 
"princes of the youth," and presented to each a silver 
buckler and spear. 

For the lands which in my fourth consulship, and after- 
ward in the consulship of Marcus Crassus and Gnaeus Lentu- 



I 



The Deeds of Augustus 237 



lus, the augur, I assigned to soldiers, I paid money to the 
municipia. The sum which I paid for Italian farms was 
about six hundred million sesterces, and that for lands in 
the provinces was about two hundred and sixty milHons. 
Of all those who have established colonies of soldiers in 
Italy or in the provinces I am the first and only one within 
the memory of my age to pay money for land. 

Four times I aided the public treasury from my own 
means, giving one hundred and fifty million sesterces. And 
in the consulship of Marcus Lepidus and Lucius Arruntius 
I paid into the mihtary treasury which was established by my 
advice, — that from it gratuities might be given soldiers who 
had served a term of twenty or more years, — one hundred 
and seventy million sesterces from my own estate. 

In my sixth and seventh consulships, when I had put an end 
to the civil wars, after having obtained complete control of 
affairs by universal consent*- 1 transferred the commonwealth 
from my own dominion to the authority of the senate and 
Roman people. In return for this favor on my part, I 
received by decree of the senate the title Augustus ; the 
door-posts of my house were publicly decked with laurels, a 
civic crown was fixed above my door, and in the Julian 
curia was placed a golden shield, which by its inscriptions 
bore witness that it was given me by the senate and the 
Roman people on account of my valor, clemency, justice, 
and piety. After that time I excelled all others in dignity, 
but of power I held no more than those also held who were 
my colleagues in any magistracy. 

(In his public works Augustus showed the true Roman 
spirit.) The Greek cities are thought to have flourished 
mainly on account of the happy choice made by their 
founders, the beauty or strength of their sites, their near- 
ness to some port, and the excellence of the country. But 
Roman prudence was more particularly employed on matters 
which had received but little attention from the Greeks, 
such as paving their roads, building aqueducts, and sewers 



Augustus, 
Deeds, i6. 
(Sesterce, 
a silver coin 
worth about 
five cents.) 



The 

treasury. 

Augustus, 
Deeds, 17. 



The republic 
restored (?) 

Augustus, 
Deeds, 34. 



(Julian sen- 
ate-house.) 



Public 
works. 

Strabo v. 3. 8. 



238 



The Julian Emperors 



The Campus 
Martius. 



Funeral 
monuments. 

(It is in fact 
the northern 
part of the 
same plain.) 



to convey the sewage of the city into the Tiber. In fact 
they have paved the roads, cut through hills, and filled up 
valleys, that merchandise may be conveyed by wagon from 
the ports. The sewers, arched over with hewn stones, are 
large enough in some parts for wagons loaded with hay to 
pass through ; while so plentiful is the supply of water from 
the aqueducts that rivers may be said to flow through the 
city and the sewers, and almost every house is furnished 
with water-pipes and copious fountains. This water-supply 
is largely the work of Marcus Agrippa. Many ornaments, 
too, he bestowed on the city. 

It may be well to say that the ancients, occupied with 
greater and more pressing affairs, paid little attention to 
beautifying Rome. But their successors, and especially 
those of our day, without neglecting necessary matters, have 
at the same time embellished the city with many splendid 
objects. Pompey, divine C?esar, and Augustus, with his 
children, friends, wife, and sister, have zealously surpassed 
all others in the munificence of these decorations. The 
greater number of improvements may be seen in the Campds 
Martius, which to the beauties of nature adds those of art. 
The remarkable size of the plain permits chariot-races and 
other feats of horsemanship without hindrance, and allows 
multitudes to exercise themselves at ball, in the circus, and 
in the palestra. The buildings which surround it, the turf 
covered with herbage all the year round, the hilltops beyond 
the Tiber, extending from its banks like a panorama, present 
a view which the eye abandons with regret. 

Near this plain is another surrounded with columns, 
sacred groves, three theatres, an amphitheatre, and superb 
temples close to one another. So magnificent is the place 
that it would seem idle to describe the rest of the city after 
it. For this reason the Romans, esteeming it the most 
sacred place, have there erected funeral monuments to the 
most illustrious persons of both sexes. The most remark- 
able of these monuments is the Mausoleum, which consists 



Public Works 



239 



Augustus, 79. 



of a mound of earth raised on a high foundation of white 

marble, situated near the river and covered to the top with 

evergreen shrubs. On the summit is a bronze statue of 

C?esar Augustus, and beneath the mound are the ashes of 

himself, his relatives, and friends. Behind is a large grove 

with charming proaienades. In the centre of the plain is 

the spot where the body of this prince was reduced to ashes ; 

it is surrounded with a double enclosure, one of marble, the 

other of iron ; and the interior is planted with poplars. If 

from there you proceed to visit the ancient Forum, which is The Forum. 

equally filled with basilicas, porticos, and temples, you will 

there behold the Capitol, the Palatine Hill, with the noble 

works which adorn them, and the piazza of Livia, — each 

succeeding place causing you speedily to forget what you 

have before seen. Such is Rome. 

In person Augustus was handsome and graceful through- His person, 
out every period of his life. But he was negligent in his Suetonius, 
dress ; and so careless about his hair that he usually had 
it trimmed in great haste by several barbers at a time. 
His beard he sometimes clipped and sometimes shaved, 
and either read or wrote during the operation. His coun- 
tenance either when he was talking or silent was calm and 
serene. To illustrate this quality a story is told that once 
when Augustus was crossing the Alps, a Gaul of the first 
rank came near him under the pretext of conferring with 
him, but in reality with the intention of throwing him down 
the precipice. The barbarian, however, was so softened by 
the face of Augustus that he dared not do the deed. 

The eyes of Augustus were bright and piercing ; and he 
was willing to have people think there was divine vigor in 
them. His teeth were thin set, small and scaly, his hair a 
little curly, and inclined to a yellow color. His eyebrows 
met ; his ears were small and he had an aquiline nose. His 
complexion was between brown and fair; his stature was 
low, though Julius Marathus, his freedman, says he was five 
feet nine inches in height. 



240 



The Julian Emperors 



His heirs. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, i. 3. 



Marcellus. 

(Tlie "hero" 
here men- 
tioned is the 
famous Mar- 
cellus of the 
Second 
Punic War ; 
Rome,Y>- 112 ; 
Aficient His- 
tory, p. 326.) 

Vergil, 
j^neid, vi. 
860-886. 

(What 
lamentations 
of mourners 
shall the 
Campus 
Martius — 
the burial 
place — send 
forth to 
Rome, the 
mighty city 
of Mars!) 



Meanwhile as supports to his despotism he raised to the 
ofifice of pontiff and to the curule aedileship Claudius Mar- 
cellus, his sister's son, while a mere stripling, and he gave 
two consecutive consulships to Marcus Agrippa, of humble 
birth but a good soldier, and one who had shared his victory. 
Marcellus soon afterward died. (In his memory Vergil in- 
serted in the ^^neid some beautiful lines, representing ^neas 
conversing with Anchises about the spirit of Marcellus in the 
realm of Hades.) 

^neas . . . noticed 
Walking a youth, superb in his figure and glittering armor; 
But his brow was uncheered, and his eyes were dejected in aspect. 
" Who, my father, is he who attends on the hero in going? 
Is he his son, or some one of his noble line of descendants? 
What an array of attendants about him ! what majesty in him ! 
But dark night flits round his head with sorrowful shadows." 
Then did his father Anchises proceed, while the tears were up-welling : 
" O my begotten, inquire not the exquisite grief of thy kindred : 
Him shall the fates just show to the world, and no longer permit him 
Here to remain; too mighty to you had the Roman succession 
Seemed, ye Supernals, if gifts so peculiar had lasted forever. 
What lamentations of heroes shall yon plain post to the mighty 
City of Mayors ! Or, Tiber, what pageants of mourning shalt thou, too, 
Witness ere long, as thou close by the new made sepulchre glidest ! 
No such a youth from the Ilian nation shall ever his Latin 
Ancestors lift to so heightened a hope, nor shall ever hereafter 
Romulus' land boast over another so cherished a darling ! 
Ah ! for thy piety ! Ah ! for the pristine faith, and the right hand 
Dauntless in war ! with impunity none could have dared to attack him, 
Meeting him when he was armed or with infantry charging on foemen. 
Or when digging his spurs in the flanks of his leathery warhorse. 
Ah ! lamentable boy ! if ever thou burstest thy hard fate. 
Thou shalt become a MARCELLUS ! bring lilies in plentiful handfuls; 
I will the flowers purpureal strew, and the soul of mine offspring 
Load with the presents at least, and will render if only an empty 
Service ! " 



{ 



Other heirs. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, i. 3. 



After the death of Marcellus, Augustus accepted Agrippa 
as his son-in-law. Tiberius Nero and Claudius Drusus, his 
stepsons, he honored with imperial titles, although his own 



The Heir of Augustus 



241 



family was as yet undiminished. For he had admitted the 
chiklren of Agrippa, Gains and Lucius, into the house of 
the Cresars. (After they and Drusus had died,) Nero 
remained alone of the stepsons, and in him everything 
tended to centre. Augustus adopted him as a son, as a 
colleague in the empire, and partner in the tribunician 
power. . . . 

In the vigor of life Augustus could maintain his own 
position, that of his house, and quiet everywhere. When 
in advanced old age he was worn out by a sickly frame, and 
the end was near, and new prospects opened, a few spoke 
in vain of the blessings of freedom, but most people dreaded 
and some longed for war. 

He died in the same room as his father Octavius ... on 
the fourteenth of the calends of September, at the ninth 
hour of the day. He was seventy-six years of age lacking 
thirty-five days. . . . Two funeral orations were pronounced 
in his praise. Senators then carried the body on their 
shoulders into the Campus Martius, and there burned it. 
A man of pretorian rank affirmed on oath that he saw the 
spirit of Augustus ascend from the funeral pile into heaven. 
The most distinguished persons of the knightly order, bare- 
foot and with loosened tunics, gathered up his ashes and 
deposited them in the mausoleum, which in his sixth con- 
sulship he had built between the Flaminian Way and the 
bank of the Tiber ; at the same time he gave the groves 
and walks about the tomb to the people. 



Tacitus, 
Annals, 4. 



His death, 

14 A.D. 



Suetonius, 
Augustus, 
100. 



Tiberius 



The next emperor was Tiberius Claudius Nero, stepson Tiberius 

of Augustus. ^^-/Ssar. 

The patrician family of the Claudii . . . came originally Emperor, 

from Regilli, a Sabine town. Thence the Claudii removed ^^ ^^ .' ' 

with a great body of their dependants to Rome soon after Tiberius, i. 
the building of the city. They made this journey under 



242 



The Julian Emperors 



Suetonius, 
Tiberius, 3. 



His infancy. 

Suetonius, 
Tiberius, 6. 



Character. 

Velleius ii. 
94. 



Titus Tatius, who thereupon became joint ruler with Romu- 
lus ; or more probably, as is related on better authority, 
they came under the lead of Atta Claudius, the head of the 
family, whom the senate admitted to the patrician order 
six years after the expulsion of the Tarquins. To the 
Claudian family Tiberius Caesar belonged by both the 
father's and the mother's side. . . . He belonged also 
to the family of the Livii by the adoption of his mother's 
grandfather into it. 

He passed his infancy and childhood in the midst of 
danger and trouble ; for he accompanied his parents every- 
where in their flight, and twice at Naples nearly betrayed 
them by his crying, when they were secretly hastening to 
a ship, for the enemy were just then rushing into the town. 
. . . Carried through Sicily and Achsea, he was for a time 
placed in charge of the Lacedaemonians, who were under 
the protection of the Claudian family. As his mother Livia 
with her child was travelling from Sparta in the night, they 
narrowly escaped death by a fire, which suddenly burst from 
a wood on all sides and surrounded the whole party so 
closely that part of Livia's dress and hair was burned. 

Tiberius Claudius Nero was three years old when Livia, 
daughter of Claudianus Drusus, became the wife of Csesar 
(Octavianns), for she had been contracted to him by Nero, 
her former husband. Tiberius, a youth trained in the 
noblest principles, possessed in the highest degree birth, 
beauty, dignity, valuable knowledge, and superior capacity. 
From the beginning he gave hopes of becoming the great 
man he now is, and by his appearance he announced him- 
self a prince. Made quaestor in his nineteenth year, he 
began to act in a public character ; and under the direction 
of his stepfather he took such judicious measures, both in 
Rome and at Ostia, to remedy the excessive price of 
provisions and the scarcity of corn that, from what he 
did on this occasion, it could plainly be seen how great he 
was to become. 



Family Affairs 



243 



He married Agrippina (Vipsania), the daughter of Marcus 
Agrippa and granddaughter of Csecilius Atticus, a Roman 
knight, — the person to whom Cicero has addressed so 
many letters. After the birth of his son Drusus, Tiberius 
was obhged to part with her, though she retained his 
affections, ... to make way for marrying JuUa, daughter 
of Augustus. This step he took with extreme reluctance ; 
for besides having the warmest attachment to Agrippina, he 
was disgusted with the conduct of Julia. . . . The divorc- 
ing of Agrippina gave him the deepest regret ; and on meet- 
ing her afterward he looked at her with eyes so passionately 
expressive of affection that care was taken that she should 
never again come in his sight. 

Surrounded by all prosperity, in the prime of life and in 
excellent health, he suddenly resolved to withdraw far from 
Rome. It is uncertain whether this was the result of dis- 
gust for his wife, whom he dared neither accuse nor divorce, 
and the connection with whom became every day more 
intolerable. . . . Some are of the opinion that as the sons 
of Augustus were now growing up to maturity, Tiberius will- 
ingly relinquished the second place in the government, which 
he had long enjoyed. 

Afterward he received news that his wife Julia had been 
condemned for her bad conduct, and that Augustus in his 
name had sent her a bill of divorce. Though he secretly 
rejoiced at this news, he thought it right in point of decency 
to interpose in her behalf by frequent letters to Augustus, 
and to allow her to retain the presents he had made her, 
notwithstanding the little regard she merited from him. 

But as Gains and Lucius both died in the space of three 
years, Augustus adopted Tiberius along with Agrippa, 
brother of the deceased, and obliged Tiberius to adopt Ger- 
manicus, his brother's son. 

Not long afterward a law was carried by the consuls for 
the appointment of Tiberius as colleague of Augustus in the 
administration of the provinces, and in taking the census ; 



His 
marriages. 

Suetonius, 
Tiberius, 7. 



(By this 
marriage 
Tiberius 
became the 
heir of 
Augustus.) 



He retires to 
Rhodes. 

Suetonius, 
Tiberius, 10. 



lb. II. 



Augustus 
adopts him. 

Suetonius, 
Tiberius, 15. 

Death of 
Augustus, 

14 A.D. 



244 



The Julian Emperors 



Suetonius, 
Tiberius, 21. 



Tiberius is 
offered the 
imperial 
power. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, i. 11. 



and when the latter work was finished, Tiberius went into 
Illyricum. Hastily recalled from his journey, he found 
Augustus alive indeed but past all hopes of recovery, and 
was with him privately a whole day. I know it is generally 
believed that when Tiberius quit the room after this private 
conference, those in waiting overheard Augustus say, " Ah ! 
unhappy Roman people, to be ground by the jaws of so slow 
a devourer ! " 

Nor am I ignorant of the report that Augustus so openly 
and undisguisedly condemned the sourness of his temper 
that sometimes when Tiberius came in, the emperor would 
break off any jocular conversation in which he was engaged ; 
and that he was prevailed upon only by the importunity of 
his wife to adopt Tiberius ; or that he was actuated by the 
ambitious view of recommending his own memory by a com- 
parison with such a successor. 

Yet I must hold to this opinion, that a prince so extremely 
circumspect and prudent as Augustus did nothing rashly, 
especially in an affair of so great importance ; but that, weigh- 
ing the vices and virtues of Tiberius each against the other, he 
judged the latter to predominate. . . . For he swore in the 
assembly of the people, " I adopt him for the public good." 

After the funeral of Augustus all prayers were addressed 
to Tiberius. On his part, he urged various reasons (for 
declining the government) — especially the greatness of the 
empire and his distrust of himself. " Only the intellect of 
the divine Augustus," he said, '' is equal to such a burden. 
Called as I have been by him to share his anxieties, I have 
learned by experience how exposed to fortune's caprices is 
the task of universal rule. Consequently a state which has 
the support of so many great men should not put everything 
on one alone ; for many by uniting their efforts will more 
easily discharge public functions." There was more grand 
sentiment than good faith in such words. . . . The senators, 
however, whose only fear was lest they might seem to under- 
stand him, burst into complaints, tears, and prayers. 



The Comitia 



245 



Wearied at last by the assembly's clamorous entreaties 
and by the urgent demands of individual senators, he gradu- 
ally gave way, though he would not admit that he was un- 
dertaking the imperial rule, but yet ceased to refuse it. 

Great, too, was the senate's flattery of (Livia) Augusta. 
Some would have her styled "parent," others "Mother of 
the Country," and a majority proposed that to the name of 
Ccesar should be added " son of Julia." The emperor 
repeatedly asserted that there should be a limit to the 
honors paid to women, and that he would preserve similar 
moderation in those bestowed on himself; but annoyed at 
the invidious proposal, and regarding a woman's elevation 
as a slight to himself, he would not allow so much as a lictor 
to be assigned her, and forbade the erection of an altar in 
memory of her adoption or any other distinction of the 
kind. 

Then for the first time the election of magistrates was 
transferred from the Campus Martins to the senate. For up 
to that day, though the most important appointments rested 
with the emperor, some were still settled by the partiaHties 
of the tribes. And the people did not complain of having 
the right taken from them, except in mere idle talk. The 
senate, now released from the necessity of bribery and of 
degrading solicitations, gladly upheld the change. Tiberius 
confined himself to the recommendation of only four can- 
didates who were to be nominated without rejection or can- 
vass. 

Such was the state of affairs at Rome when a mutiny 
broke out in the legions of Pannonia, — a disturbance which 
could be traced to no fresh cause except the change of 
emperors and the prospect it held out of licence in tumult 
and of profit from a civil war. ... In the camp was a 
certain Percennius who had once been a leader of one of 
the theatrical factions, and had then become a common 
soldier. He had a saucy tongue, and had learned from his 
applause of actors how to stir up a crowd. 



Tacitus, 
Annals, i. 13. 



The 

emperor's 

mother. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, i. 14. 

("Julia," 
from her 
adoption into 
the Julian 
family.) 



The 

assemblies 

abolished. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, i. r5. 



The mutiny 
in Pannonia. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, i. 16. 



246 



The Julian Emperors 



speech of 
Percennius. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, i. 17. 



P. 63. 



(At this time 
about 
twenty-one 
cents.) 



lb. i. 18. 



The mutiny 
in Germany. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, i. 31. 



At last when there were others ready to join the mutiny, 
he asked in the tone of a demagogue why, Uke slaves, they 
submitted to a few centurions and still fewer tribunes. 
" When will you dare demand relief," he asked, " if you do 
not go with your prayers or ariBs to a new and feeble 
throne? For many years we have blundered enough by 
our tameness in enduring thirty or forty campaigns till we 
grow old, most of us with bodies maimed by wounds. Even 
dismissal is not the end of our service, but quartered under 
a legion's standard, we continue to toil through the same 
hardships under another title. If a soldier survives so many 
risks, he is then dragged into remote regions, where under 
the name of lands he receives soaking swamps or mountain 
wastes. 

" Assuredly military service is burdensome and unprofit- 
able ; ten asses a day is the value set on life and limb. Out 
of this amount clothing, arms, tents, as well as the mercy of 
centurions and exemptions from duty have to be purchased. 
But of floggings and wounds, of hard winters, wearisome 
summers, terrible war, and barren peace, there is no end. 
Our rehef will coiTie only if we enter miHtary life under fixed 
conditions : each should receive a denarius, and our service 
should end with the sixteenth year. . . . Do the pretorian 
cohorts, which have just got their two denarii a man, and 
which after sixteen years are restored to their homes, en- 
counter more dangers than we? We do not disparage the 
guards of the capital ; but here amid barbarous tribes we 
have to face the enemy from our tents." 

The throng applauded from various motives, some point- 
ing with indignation to the marks of the lash, others to their 
gray locks, and most of them to their threadbare garments 
and naked limbs. 

About the same time and from the same causes the 
legions of Germany rose in mutiny, with a fury propor- 
tioned to their greater numbers, in the confident hope that 
Germanicus C^sar would not be able to endure another's 



The Mutiny 



247 



supremacy and would offer himself (as emperor) to the 
legions, whose strength would carry everything before them. 
. . . There was sedition in many a face and voice. " The 
Roman world," they said, " is in our hands ; our victories 
increase the state ; from us emperors receive their titles." 

Their commander (Csecina) did not check them. In fact 
the blind rage of so many had robbed him of his resolution. 
In a sudden frenzy they rushed with drawn swords on the 
centurions, the immemorial object of the soldiers' resent- 
ment and the first cause of savage fury. They threw these 
officers down and beat them sorely. . . . Then tearing 
them from the ground, mangled and some Hfeless, they 
flung them outside the intrenchments or into the river 
Rhine. 

Hearing of the mutiny in the legions, Germanicus instantly 
went to the spot, and as he met the soldiers outside the 
camp, their eyes were fixed on the ground and they seemed 
repentant. As soon as he entered the intrenchments, con- 
fused murmurs arose. Some men, seizing his hand under 
pretence of kissing it, thrust his fingers into their mouths 
that he might touch their toothless gums ; others showed 
him their limbs bowed with age. . . . Beginning with a 
reverent mention of Augustus, he passed on to the victories 
and triumphs of Tiberius, dwelling with especial praise on 
his glorious achievements with those legions in Germany. 
Next he extolled the unity of Italy, the loyalty of Gaul, the 
entire absence of turbulence or strife. He was heard in 
silence or with but a slight murmur. 

(He calmed the sedition for a time, but it soon blazed 
out anew. Thereupon he resolved to send his wife Agrip- 
pina and their young son Gaius, — nicknamed Caligula by 
the soldiers, — away from the camp to a place, of safety.) 
At first his wife spurned the notion, protesting that she was 
a descendant of the divine Augustus and could face peril 
with no degenerate spirit ; but finally he embraced her and 
the son of their love with many tears, and after a long delay 



Tacitus, 
Annals, i. 32. 



Speech of 
Germanicus, 

Tacitus, 
Annals, i. 34. 



Agrippina 
prepares to 
depart. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, i. 40. 



248 



The Julian Emperors 



The 

soldiers' 

honor. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, i. 41. 



(Treveri, 
now Treves, 
a city of Gaul 
in alliance 
with Rome.) 



Death of 
Germanicus. 



Tacitus, 
Annals, iii. 6. 



compelled her to depart. Then slowly moved along a piti- 
able procession of women, a general's fugitive wife with a 
little son in her bosom, and her friends' wives weeping round 
her, as they were dragging themselves with her from the 
camp. Not less sorrowful were those who remained. 

There was no appearance of the triumphant general in 
Germanicus ; he seemed to be in a conquered city rather 
than in his own camp ; groans and wailings attracted the 
ears and looks even of the soldiers. Coming out of their 
tents, they asked : 

"What is this mournful sound? What mean% the sad 
sight? Here are ladies of rank, not a centurion to escort 
them, not a soldier, no sign of a prince's wife, none of the 
usual retinue. Can they be going to the Treveri, to subjects 
of the foreigner? " 

Then they felt shame and pity, and remembered her 
father Agrippa, her grandfather Augustus, her father-in-law 
Drusus, her own glory as the mother of children, her noble 
purity. And there was her litde child, too, born in the camp, 
brought up amid the tents of the legions, — the boy whom 
they used to call in soldiers' fashion Caligula, because he 
often wore the boot so called, to win the men's good will. 

But nothing moved them so much as jealousy toward the 
Treveri. They stopped the way, and entreated that Agrip- 
pina might return and remain ; some ran to meet her while 
others went back to Germanicus. (Thus through the in- 
fluence of Agrippina the mutiny which had threatened the 
existence of the empire subsided. About the same time the 
Pannonian mutiny was quelled by Drusus, son of the emperor. 
Some time afterward Germanicus died in the East ; and as 
he was very popular, the Romans loudly lamented his death. 
Thinking their grief excessive, Tiberius mildly rebuked 
them in the following address : " Many eminent Romans 
have died for their country, but none have been honored 
with such passionate regret. This grief is a glory to myself 
and to all, provided only a due mean is observed ; for what 



An Earthquake 



249 



is becoming in humble homes and communities does not 
befit princely persons and an imperial people. Tears and 
the solace found in mourning are suitable enough for the first 
burst of grief; but now you must brace up your hearts to 
endurance, as in former days the divine Julius after the loss 
of his only daughter, and the divine Augustus when he was 
bereft of his grandchildren, thrust away their sorrow. There 
is no need of examples from the past to show how often the 
Roman people have patiently endured the defeats of armies, 
the destruction of generals, the total extinction of noble 
families. - Princes are mortal ; the state is everlasting. 
Return then to your usual pursuits and even to your amuse- 
ments." 

Twelve famous cities of Asia fell by an earthquake one 
night, so that the destruction was all the more unforeseen 
and fearful. And there was no means of escape usual in 
such a disaster, by rushing out into the open country ; for 
in the case before us the yawning earth swallowed the people 
up. Vast mountains collapsed ; what had been level ground 
seemed to be raised aloft, and fires blazed out amid the 
ruin. The misfortune fell most fatally on the inhabitants of 
Sardis, and attracted to them the largest share of sympathy. 
The emperor promised ten million sesterces, and remitted 
for five years all their dues to the treasury or to the emperor's 
purse. It was determined that the people of these cities . , . 
should be exempt from tribute for that length of time, and 
some one was to be sent to examine their actual condition 
and to relieve them. 

Tiberius suppressed all foreign religions, including the 
Egyptian and Jewish rites ; those who practised these super- 
stitions he compelled to burn their vestments and all their 
sacred utensils. Under pretence of military service he dis- 
tributed the Jewish youths among the provinces noted for 
their unhealthful climate ; and he dismissed from the city 
all the rest of that nation as well as proselytes to that faith, 
under pain of slavery for life unless they obeyed. 



A public 
misfortune. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, 
ii. 47. 



Egyptian 
and Jewish 
religion. 

Suetonius, 
Tiberius, 36. 



250 



The Julian Emperors 



Excessive 
luxury. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, iii. 
52. 



Referred to 
the emperor. 



His letter to 
the senate. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, iii. 
S3- 



" Where am 
I to begin?" 



Luxury had reached boundless excess in everything on 
which wealth is lavished, . . . Costly preparations for 
gluttony and dissipation were the theme of incessant talk, 
and had suggested a fear that a prince who clung to old- 
fashioned frugality would be too stern in his reforms. In 
fact when the aedile Gains Bibulus broached the topic, all his 
colleagues pointed out that the sumptuary laws were dis- 
regarded, that prohibited prices for household articles were 
every day on the increase, and that moderate measures 
could not stop the evil. 

The senate, on being consulted, did not discuss the matter 
but referred it to the emperor. After long considering 
whether such reckless tastes could be repressed, whether the 
repression of them would not be still more hurtful to the 
state, and how undignilied it would be to meddle with what 
he could not succeed in, or what if affected would necessi- 
tate the disgrace and infamy of distinguished men, Tiberius 
at last addressed a letter to the senate to the following pur- 
port : 

" Perhaps in any other matter, senators, it would be more 
convenient that I should be consulted in your presence, and 
then state what I think to be for the public good. In this 
debate it was better that my eyes should not be on you, for 
while you were noting the anxious faces of individual 
senators charged with shameful luxury, I too might observe 
them and, as it were, detect them. Had those energetic 
men, our aediles, first taken counsel with me, I do not know 
whether I should not have advised them to let alone vices 
so strong and so matured, rather than merely attain the re- 
sult of publishing what are the corruptions with which we 
cannot cope. They have certainly done their duty, how- 
ever, as I could wish all other officials likewise to fulfil their 
parts. 

" For myself, it is neither seemly to keep silent nor is it 
easy to speak my mind, as I do not hold the office of 9edile, 
prsetor, or consul. Something greater and loftier is expected 



Luxury 



251 



of a prince, and while everybody takes to himself the credit 
of a right policy, one alone has to bear the odium of every 
person's failures. For what am I first to begin with re- 
straining and cutting down to the old standard? The vast 
dimensions of country houses? The number of slaves of 
every nationality? The masses of silver and gold? The 
marvels of bronze and painting ? The apparel worn by both 
sexes? Or jewels — that peculiar luxury of women which 
diverts our wealth to strange or hostile nations? 

" I am not unaware that people at entertainments and 
social gatherings condemn all this and demand some restric- 
tion. But if a law were to be passed and a penalty imposed, 
those same persons will cry out that the state is revolution- 
ized, that ruin is plotted against all our most brilliant 
fashion, that not a citizen is safe from accusation. ... Of 
the many laws devised by our ancestors, of the many passed 
by the divine Augustus, the first have been forgotten, while 
his — all the more to our disgrace — have become obsolete 
through contempt, and this result has made luxury bolder 
than ever. . 

" Why then in old times was economy in the ascendant ? 
Because every one practised self-control ; because we were 
all members of one city. Not even afterward had we the 
same temptations, while our dominion was confined to Italy, 
Victories over the foreigner taught us how to waste the sub- 
stance of others ; victories over ourselves taught us how to 
squander our own. What a paltry matter is this of which 
the sediles are reminding us ! What a mere trifle if you look 
at everything else ! No one represents to the senate that 
Italy requires supplies from abroad, and that the very exist- 
ence of the people of Rome is daily at the mercy of un- 
certain waves and storms. And unless masters, slaves, and 
estates have the resources of the provinces as their mainstay, 
our shrubberies forsooth, and our country houses will have 
to support us. 

" Such, senators, are the anxieties which the prince has to 



Sumptuary 
laws not en- 
forced. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, iii. 
54- 



" There are 

greater 

dangers." 



252 



The Julian Emperors 



The prince's 
burdens. 



Tacitus, 

Annals, ill. 
55- 

Death and 
character of 
Livia Julia 
Augusta. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, v. i. 

(Perusian 
War, the 
siege of 
L. Antonius, 
brother of 
the triumvir, 
by Octavia- 
nus, 41-40 
B.C., in 
Perusia, now 
Perugia.) 



(Without 
good reason 
Tacitus 
considers 
Tiberius 
hypocritical ; 
cf. p. 12.) 



sustain, and the neglect of them will be utter ruin to the 
state. The cure of other evils must be sought in our own 
hearts. Let us be led to amendment, the poor by con- 
straint, the rich by satiety. Or if any of our officials give 
promise of such energy and strictness as can stem the cor- 
ruption, I praise thein, and admit that I am reheved of 
a portion of my burdens. But if they wish to denounce 
vice, and when they have gained credit for so doing, they 
arouse resentments and leave them to me, be assured, sena- 
tors, that I too am by no means eager to incur enmities ; 
and though for the public good I encounter formidable and 
often unjust enmities, yet I have a right to decline such as 
are unmeaning and purposeless and will be of use neither 
to you nor to myself." 

When they had heard the emperor's letter, the aediles 
were excused from so anxious a task. 

(Livia) Julia Augusta died at an advanced age. A 
Claudia by birth, and by adoption a Livia and a Julia, 
she united the noblest blood of Rome. The first marriage 
by which she had children was with Tiberius Nero, who 
was an exile during the Perusian War, but returned to Rome 
when peace had been concluded between Sextus Pompey 
and the triumvirs. (Their sons were Tiberius, who became 
emperor, and Drusus.) Afterward Caesar (Octavianus), 
captivated by her beauty, took her away from her husband. 
. . . She had no more children, but allied as she was 
through the marriage of Agrippina and Germanicus to the 
blood of Augustus, her great-grandchildren were also his. 

In the purity of her home life she was of the ancient type, but 
more gracious than was thought fitting in ladies of former days. 
An imperious mother and an amiable wife, she was a match 
for the diplomacy of her husband, and the dissimulation of 
her son (Tiberius). Her funeral was simple, and her will 
long remained unexecuted. Her great-grandson Gains Cgesar 
(Caligula), who afterward succeeded to power, pronounced 
her funeral oration from the rostra. 



Appearance of Tiberius 253 



Appearance 
of Tiberius. 

Suetonius, 
Tiberius, 68. 



Peculiar 
traits of 
character. 



In person Tiberius was large and robust, in stature some- 
what above the average ; he was broad in the shoulders and 
chest, and well-proportioned throughout his frame. He 
used his left hand more readily and with more force than 
the right ; and his joints were so strong that he could bore 
a fresh apple through with his finger, and wound the head 
of a boy or a young man with a fillip. His complexion was 
fair, and he wore his hair so long behind that it covered his 
neck, — a noticeable mark of distinction affected by the 
family. He had a handsome face, which however was often 
pimpled. His large eyes had a wonderful faculty of seeing 
in the dark, for a short time only, immediately after waking 
from sleep ; then they would soon grow dim. 

He walked with his neck stiff and upright, generally with 
a frowning countenance, and silent. When he spoke to 
those about him, it was very slowly, and usually accompanied 
with a shght gesticulation of the fingers. All these repulsive 
habits and signs of arrogance were noticed by Augustus, who 
often tried to excuse them to the senate, declaring that they 
were natural defects, which proceeded from no viciousness 
of mind. 

About two years before his death he made duplicates of 
his will, one written by his own hand, the other by a freed- 
man. . . . He appointed joint heirs to his estate his two 
grandsons, — Gains, son of Germanicus, and Tiberius, son 
of Drusus. On the death of one of them, the other was to 
inherit the whole. 

Gaius C^sar Caligula 

Germanicus had married Agrippina, daughter of Marcus The family 
Agrippa and Julia. He had nine children. Two died in cus.^"°^°^" 
infancy and another a few years afterward, a sprightly boy, suetonius, 
whose image, in the character of a cupid, Livia set up in the Caligula, 7. 
temple of Venus in the Capitol. Augustus placed another 
statue of him in his bed-chamber, and used to kiss it when- 
ever he entered the apartment. The rest survived their 



His will. 

Suetonius, 
Tiberius, 76. 



254 



The Julian Emperors 



Caligula's 
accession, 
37 A.D. 

Suetonius, 
Caligula, 13. 



Jb. 21. 

(Ssepta, the 
enclosed 
voting-place 
in the Cam- 
pus Martius.) 



He wishes 
to be a god. 

Suetonius, 
Caligula, 22. 



He longs for 
misfortune. 

Suetonius, 
Caligula, 31. 



father. There were three daughters, Agrippina, Drusilla, 
and Livilla, who were born in three successive years, — and 
as many sons, — Nero, Drusus, and Gaius Csesar. On the 
accusation of Tiberius, Nero and Drusus were declared 
public enemies. 

In receiving the imperial powers Caligula fulfilled the wish 
of the Roman people, and I may venture to say, of all man- 
kind ; for most of the provincials and soldiers, who had 
known him when a child, had long been looking forward to 
the event ; so had all the people of Rome because of affec- 
tion for the memory of Germanicus, his father, and compas- 
sion for the family now almost extinct. 

He completed the works left unfinished by Tiberius, — 
the temple of Augustus and the theatre of Pompey. He 
began, too, the aqueduct from the neighborhood of Tibur 
and an amphitheatre near the Ssepta. The former was com- 
pleted by his successor Claudius, the latter remained as he 
left it. 

Thus far we have spoken of him as a prince. What re- 
mains to be said shows him to be a monster rather than a 
man. . . . He was strongly inclined to assume the diadem, 
and change the form of government from imperial to regal ; 
but when told that he far exceeded the grandeur of kings 
and princes, he began to assume a divine majesty. He 
ordered all the images of the gods which were famous for 
their beauty or for the veneration paid them, including that 
of Jupiter Olympius, to be brought from Greece that he 
might take the heads off and put on his own. He extended 
his palace as far as the Forum, and converting the temple of 
Castor and Pollux into a kind of vestibule to his house, he 
often stationed himself between the twin brothers, and so 
presented himself to be worshipped by all who came in. 

Often he complained aloud of the condition of the times, 
because it was not made remarkable by any public calamity ; 
whereas the reign of Augustus had become memorable to 
posterity through the disaster of Varus, and that of Tiberius 



An Insane Emperor 



^55 



by the fall of the theatre of Fidense, /lis was likely to pass into 
oblivion from an uninterrupted prosperity. And at times he 
wished for some terrible slaughter of his troops, a famine, a 
pestilence, a conflagration, or an earthquake. 

At last, seized with an invincible desire to feel money, he 
took off his slippers and repeatedly walked over great heaps 
of gold coin spread upon the spacious floor, and then laying 
himself down, rolled his whole body in gold over and over. 

He was tall, pale, and ill-shaped ; his neck and legs were 
very slender, his eyes and temples hollow, his brows broad 
and knit, his hair thin, and the crown of the head bald. . . . 
His face, naturally hideous and frightful, he purposely ren- 
dered more so by drawing it, before a mirror, into the most 
horrible contortions. He was abnormal both in body and in 
mind ; for as a boy he had been subject to epilepsy. 

In his frantic and savage career many had formed designs 
for killing him ; but one or two conspiracies were discovered, 
and others postponed for want of opportunity. At last two 
men concerted a plan together, and accomplished their 
purpose. 

He lived twenty-nine years, and reigned three years, ten 
months, and eight days. 



J?Ofne, p. 208 ; 
Ancient His- 
tory, p. 382. 



lb. 42. 



His appear- 
ance. 

Suetonius, 
Caligula, 50. 
A.D. 



His assass- 
ination, 41. 

A.D. 

Suetonius, 
Caligula, 56. 



lb. 59. 



Country Life 

The glittering ore let others vainly heap, 

O'er fertile vales extend the enclosing mound; 

With dread of neighb'ring foes forsake their sleep, 
And start aghast at every trumpet's sound. 

Me humbler scenes delight, and calmer days; 

A tranquil life, fair Poverty, secure ! 
Then boast, my hearth, a small but cheerful blaze, 

And riches grasp who will, let me be poor. 

Nor yet be Hope a stranger to my door. 

But o'er my roof, bright goddess, still preside ! 

With many a bounteous autumn heap my floor. 
And swell my vats with must, — a purple tide. 



Happy 
though poor. 

Tibullus, i. I. 



256 



The Julian Emperors 



P.37. 



(Priapus, a 
garden god, 
made of a 
board and 
painted red, 
a scare- 
crow.) 



N 



My tender vines I'll plant with early care, 
And choicest apples with a skilful hand; 

Nor blush, a rustic, oft to guide the share. 
Or goad the tardy ox along the land. 

Let me, a simple swain, with honest pride. 

If chance a lambkin from its dam should roam, 

Or sportful kid, the little wanderer chide. 
And in my bosom bear exulting home. 

Here Pales I bedew with milky showers. 
Lustrations yearly for my shepherd pay, 

Revere each antique stone bedecked with flowers 
That bounds the field or points the doubtful way. 

My grateful fruits, the earliest of the year, 

Before the rural god shall duly wait. 
From Ceres' gifts I'll cull each browner ear, 

And hang a wheaten wreath before her gate* 

The ruddy god shall save my fruit from stealth. 
And far away each little plunderer scare : 

And you, the guardians once of ampler wealth, 
My household gods, shall still my off' rings share. 

My num'rous herds that wantoned o'er the mead 
The choicest fatling then could richly yield; 

Now scarce I spare a little lamb to bleed 
A mighty victim for my scanty field. 

And yet a lamb shall bleed, while, ranged around, 
The village youths shall stand in order meet, 

With rustic hymns, ye gods, your praise resound, 
And future crops and future wines entreat. 

Then come, ye powers, nor scorn my frugal board, 
Nor yet the gifts clean earthen bowls convey^ 

With these the first of men the gods adored, 
And formed their simple shape of ductile clay. 

My little flock, ye wolves, ye robbers, spare. 
Too mean a plunder to deserve your toil; 

For wealthier herds the nightly theft prepare; 
There seek a nobler prey, and richer spoil. 



Nature 



257 



For treasured wealth, nor stores of golden wheat, — 
The hoard of frugal sires, — I vainly call ; 

A little farm be mine, a cottage neat, 

And wonted couch where balmy sleep may fall. 

Nature is more Lovely than Art 

Why walk, my love, with locks bedecked with gold? 
And rustle Coan robes with silken fold? 
Ah, why with Syrian unguents drench thy hair, 
Tricked out for sale with artificial ware? 
Why scorn to please by nature's simple grace, 
And seek th' allurements of a borrowed face? 
From tricks like these thy charms no fairer prove. 
For artificial beauty wins not love. 

See with what natural hues the earth is drest — 
Uncared, unmarked the ivy blossoms best; 
Midst desert rocks the ilex clusters still. 
Soft are the murmurs of the lonely rill, 
Bright are the pebbly shores that gem the sea. 
And sweet the wild bird's untaught melody. 

^ ¥^ ¥^ ^ r^ T^ 7^ 

Thine is the charm in winning words that lives, 
Thine all the grace that wit and beauty gives : 
These make me thine — thine ever will I be, 
Couldst thou but learn to hate frivolity. 

Winter 

Only hark how the doorway goes straining and creaking. 

And the piercing wind pipes through the trees that surround 

The court of your villa, while black frost is streaking 
With ice the crisp snow that lies thick on the ground ! 



" Artificial 
beauty wins 
not love ' ' 

(Dresses of 
light, thin 
material 
from Cos, an 
island in the 
.^gean Sea.) 

Propertius i. 



Horace, 
Odes, iii. 10. 



Enjoy the Spring 

As biting winter flies, lo, Spring with sunny skies. 

And balmy airs ! and barks long dry put out again from shore ; 
Now the ox forsakes his byre, and the husbandman his fire. 

And daisy-dappled meadows bloom \\here winter frosts lay hoar. 
By Citherea led, while the moon hangs overhead. 

The nymphs and graces, hand in hand, with alternating fe6t 
Shake the ground, while swinking Vulcan strikes the sparkles fierce and 
red 

From the forges of the Cyclops, with reiterated beat, 
s 



Horace, 
Odds, i. 4. 

(Venus, of 
the island of 
Cythera.) 

(Cyclopes, 
one-eyed 
giants, repre- 
sented as 
smiths, or 
builders.) 



258 



The Julian Emperors 



(Faunus.like 
the Greek 
Pan, was god 
of the forest, 
plain, and 
fields.) 



(Manes, 
spirits of the 
dead ; Pluto, 
kin^ in the 
realm of the 
dead.) 



Horace, 
Odes, i. 4. 



'Tis time with myrtle green to bind our glistening locks, 

Or with flowers, wherein the loosened earth herself hath newly 
dressed, 
And to sacrifice to Faunus in some glade amidst the rocks 

A yearly lamb, or else a kid, if such delight him best. 
Death comes alike to all — to the monarch's lordly hall. 

Or the hovel of the beggar, and his summons none shall stay. 
O Sestius, happy Sestius ! use the moments as they pass ; 

Far-reaching hopes are not for us, the creatures of a day. 
Thee soon shall night enshroud; and the Manes' phantom crowd. 

And the starvelling house unbeautiful of Pluto shut thee in; 
And thou shalt not banish care by the ruddy wine-cup there, 

Nor woo the gentle Lycidas, whom all are mad to win. 

My Friends and I 

With storm and wrack the sky is black, and sleet and dashing rain 
With all the gathered streams of heaven are deluging the plain ; 
Now roars the sea, the forests roar with the shrill north wind of Thrace, 
Then let us snatch the hour, my friends, the hour that flies apace, 
Whilst yet the bloom is on our cheeks, and rightfully we may 
With song and jest and jollity keep wrinkled age at bay ! 
Bring forth a jar of lordly wine, whose years my own can mate, 
Its ruby juices stained the vats in Torquatus' consulate ! 
No word of anything that's sad ; whate'er may be amiss, 
The gods belike will change to some vicissitude of bliss ! 



(Composed 
by Horace 
for the Saecu- 
lar games, 
with which 
Augustus, in 
17 B.C., cele- 
brated the 
opening of 
a new Scsiu- 
lum, or age. 
In the plan 
of Augustus 
the sasculum 
was to con- 
sist of a hun- 
dred and ten 
years, but 
other emper- 
ors, as 
Claudius, 
insisted on 



From the Secular Hymn 

To Apollo and Diana 

Ye powers divine. 
Unto our docile youth give morals pure ! 

Ye powers divine, 

To placid age give peace, 

And to the stock of Romulus ensure 

Dominion vast, a never-failing line, 
And in all noble things still make them to increase ! 

And oh ! may he who now 
To you with milk-white steers uplifts his prayer. 

Within whose veins doth flow 
Renowned Anchises' blood, and Venus' ever fair. 
Be still in war supreme, yet still the foe 
His sword hath humbled spare ! 



The Sascular Hymn 



259 



Now, even now the Mede 
Our hosts omnipotent by land and sea, 

And Alban axes fears ; the Scythians, late 
So vaunting, and the hordes of Ind await. 
On low expectant knee, 
What terms soe'er we may be minded to concede. 
Now Faith, and Peace, and Honor, and the old 

Primeval Shame, and Worth long held in scorn, 

To reappear make bold. 
And blissful Plenty, with her teeming horn. 
Doth all her smiles unfold. 

And oh ! may he, the vSeer Divine, 
God of the fulgent bow, 
Phcebus, beloved of the Muses nine. 

Who, for the body racked and worn with woe 
By arts remedial finds an anodyne. 
If he with no unloving eye doth view 

The crested heights and halls of Palatine, 

On to a lustre new 
Prolong the weal of Rome, the blest estate 
Of Latium, and on them, long ages through. 
Still growing honors, still new joys accumulate ! 

And may She, too, who makes her haunt 
On Aventine and Algidus alway. 
May She, Diana, grant 
The prayers, which duly here 
The Fifteen Men upon this festal day 

To her devoutly send. 
And to the youth's pure adjurations lend 
No unpropitious ear ! 

Now homeward we repair. 
Full of the blessed hope, that will not fail. 
That Jove and all the gods have heard our prayer, 
And with approving smiles our homage hail, — 
We, skilled in choral harmonies to raise 
The hymn to Phoebus and Diana's praise. 

STUDIES 

1. What made the imperial government possible ? 

2. How did Augustus (Caesar Octavianus) celebrate his successes ? 

3. Who were his heirs ? Who finally succeeded him ? 



making it an 
even hun- 
dred years.) 



(The axes 
were an em- 
blem of 
Roman 
power. Hor- 
ace calls 
them Alban 
after Alba 
Longa, the 
mother-city 
of Rome and 
the early 
home of the 
Julian gens, 
to which 
Augustus be- 
longed by 
adoption.) 



(The Fifteen 
Men wholiad 
charge of the 
Sibylline 
Books, which 
ordained this 
celebration. 
The number 
of men in 
this college 
was origin- 
ally two, but 
was in- 
creased to ten 
by Licinius 
and Sextius, 
and still 
later to 
fifteen.) 



260 The Julian Emperors 

4. How did Augustus formally restore the republic ? What was in 
fact the nature of the government from this time forward (^Roine, p. 210; 
Ancient History, p. 383) ? 

5. Describe his personal appearance. 

6. Give an account of the early life and character of Tiberius. 
What did Augustus think of him ? 

7. May not Tiberius have been sincere in at first declining the impe- 
rial powers ? Was the position of emperor in every way desirable (cf. 
Rome, p. 219)? Was his mother helpful to him? Describe her 
character. 

8. What advantages resulted from the abolition of the assemblies ? 
Was there any reason for continuing them longer ? Did they represent 
Italy or the empire ? 

9. What were the causes of the mutiny ? Were the grievances of 
the soldiers real ? Was their lot harder now than it had been under 
the republic (cf. Rome, p. 219)? What good quality did their treat- 
ment of Agrippina show ? How was the mutiny ended ? 

10. What points did Tiberius make in his address to the people 
after the death of Germanicus ? What features of his character does 
this speech show ? 

11. What public misfortunes did Tiberius relieve? Have you any 
proof that he was humane ? 

12. What did he think of sumptuary laws? Was this attitude 
wise ? What is at present the general opinion of sumptuary legisla- 
tion ? What did Tiberius consider the chief burdens of the emperor ? 

13. Give an account of the reign of Caligula, and describe his char- 
acter. Was he insane ? What at this time must have been the char- 
acter of the Romans who endured the rule of such an emperor ? 

14. Who was Horace (cf. ch. i) ? Why might we call him the 
poet-laureate of the Augustan age ? What was the event which he 
celebrates in the poem at the opening of ch. ix ? Why did Augustus 
deserve the honor of the victories won by his stepson ? In defining 
the empire of Augustus why does the poet mention those particular 
nations ? 

15. What lesson does Horace learn from spring? What does he 
think of the pleasures and the cares of life ? 

16. In the Saccular Hymn what blessings does Horacd^ask the gods 
to give the Roman ? What virtues, in his opinion, were then returning 
to Rome ? 

17. Who was Tibullus (cf. ch. i) ? From his poem near the end of 
chapter ix what may we learn of country life ? 

18. Who was Propertius (cf. ch. i) ? What was his ideal beauty ? 



CHAPTER X 

The Claudian and the Flavian 
Emperors 

(41-96 A.D.) 



CLAUDIUS 

Claudius (the next emperor) was born at Lyons . . . the 
very day on which an altar was first dedicated there to 
Augustus. He was named Tiberius Claudius Drusus; but 
afterward, on the adoption of his elder brother into the 
Julian family, he added the surname Germanicus. The 
father left him an infant ; and during almost the whole of 
his minority, and for some time after he had attained the 
age of manhood, he was afflicted with a variety of obstinate 
diseases, so that his mind and body were greatly impaired. 
Even after growing up, he was never thought sufficiently 
qualified for any public or private employment. 

From an early age, however, he applied himself with great 
diligence to the study of the liberal sciences, and frequently 
published specimens of his skill in each of them. But never 
with all his efforts could he attain to any public post in the 
government, or give any hope of arriving at distinction. 
His mother Antonia often called him " an imperfect man, 
whom nature had begun but had not finished." And when 
she wished to upbraid any one with dulness, she would say, 
" He is a greater fool than my son Claudius." . . . His sister 
Livilla, on hearing that he was about to be created emperor, 
openly and loudly expressed her indignation that the Roman 
people should experience a fate so severe and so much below 
their grandeur. 

261 



Tiberius 
Claudius 
Drusus 
emperor, 41- 

54 A.D. 

Suetonius, 
Claudius, 2. 

(His elder 
isrother was 
the emperor 
Tiberius.) 



"A learned 
fool." 

Suetonius, 
Claudius, 3. 



262 Claudian and Flavian Emperors 



As a public 
man. 

Suetonius, 
Claudius, 7, 



Ib.Z. 



The pretori- 
ans make 
him 
emperor. 

Suetonius, 
Claudius, 10. 



His censor- 
ship. 



When Gaius, his brother's son, had been raised to the im- 
perial office, and was trying to gain the affections of the 
pubUc by all the arts of popularity, Claudius at last was 
admitted to office, and held the consulship jointly with his 
nephew for two months. 

Still he was subject to many slights. If he ever came in 
late to supper, he was obliged to walk round the room sev- 
eral times before he could get a place at the table. When 
he indulged himself in his common habit of sleeping at the 
end of meals, the company used to throw olive-stones and 
dates at him. . . . Sometimes they would put slippers on 
his hands as he lay snoring, that on awaking he might rub 
his face with them. 

After spending the greater part of his life in this way, he 
received the office of emperor in the fiftieth year of his age 
and by a surprising turn of fortune. . . . Terrified by the 
report that Gaius had been killed, he crept into a balcony, 
where he hid himself behind the hangings of the door. A 
common soldier, who happened to pass that way, spied his 
feet, and wishing to learn who he was, pulled him out. Im- 
mediately recognizing him, the soldier threw himself at the 
feet of Claudius, and saluted him emperor. He then con- 
ducted Claudius to the pretorian guards, who were all in 
great rage and irresolute as to what they should do. . . . 

The day afterward, as the senate was slow in its proceed- 
ings, and was worn out by divisions among its members, 
while the people who surrounded the senate-house shouted 
that they would have one master, naming Claudius, he suf- 
fered the guards assembled under arms to swear allegiance 
to him, and promised them fifteen thousand sesterces a man. 
Thus Claudius was the first of the Caesars to purchase the 
submission of the soldiers with money. 

He assumed, too, the censorship, which had been discon- 
tinued since the time when Paulus and Plancus had jointly 
held it. This office he administered very irregularly and 
with a strange variety of humor and conduct. . . . He pub- 



A Broad-Minded Emperor 263 



lished twenty proclamations in a day, in one of which he 
gave the people the following advice, — " As the vintage is 
very plentiful, have your casks well secured at the bung with 
pitch ; " and in another he told them, " Nothing will sooner 
cure the bite of a viper than the sap of the yew-tree." 

The question of filling up the senate was discussed, and 
the chief men of Gallia Comata, who had long possessed the 
rights of allies and of Roman citizens, sought the privilege 
of obtaining public offices at Rome. There was much talk 
of every kind on the subject, and vehement opposition 
showed itself in the argument before the emperor. " Italy," 
some said, " is not so feeble as to be unable to furnish her 
own capital with a senate. . . . What distinctions will be 
left for the remnants of our noble houses, or for any impov- 
erished senators from Latium ? Every place will be crowded 
with these millionnaires, whose ancestors of the second and 
third generations at the head of hostile tribes destroyed our 
armies with fire and sword, and actually besieged the divine 
Julius at Alesia. These are recent memories. What if there 
were to rise up the remembrance of those who fell in Rome's 
citadel and at her altar by the hands of these same barba- 
rians ! Let them enjoy the title of citizens, but let them not 
vulgarize the distinctions of the senate and the honors of 
office." 

These and like arguments failed to impress the emperor. 
He at once applied himself to answering them, and thus 
addressed the assembled senate : " My ancestors, the most 
ancient of whom was made at once a citizen and a noble of 
Rome, encourage me to govern by the same policy of trans- 
ferring to this city all conspicuous merit, wherever found. . . . 

" What was the ruin of Sparta and Athens but this fault, 
that mighty as they were in war, they spurned from them as 
aliens those whom they had conquered? Our founder Rom- 
ulus, on the other hand, was so wise that on one and the 
same day he fought as enemies and hailed as fellow-citizens 
several nations. Strangers have reigned over us. That 



(Censorship 
of Paulus 
and Plancus, 
22 B.C.) 

Suetonius, 
Claudius, i6. 

Narrowness 
of the 

Roman sena- 
tors. 

(Gallia 
Comata, or 
Celtica, one 
of the prov- 
inces of 
Transalpine 
Gaul.) 

Tacitus, 
Annals, xi. 
23. 



Statesman- 
like views of 
the emperor. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, xi. 
24. 

(For his 
" most 
ancient " 
ancestor, see 
p. 241 f.) 



264 Claudian and Flavian Emperors 



The Gauls 
are worthy 
of the honor. 

(Caesar's 
conquest, 58- 
50 B.C.) 



Tacitus, An- 
nals, xi. 25. 

P. 203. 

Saint Peter. 

Eusebius, 
Ecclesiasti- 
cal History, 
ii. 14. 



Personal 
appearance 
of Claudius. 

Suetonius, 
Claudius, 30. 



freedmen's sons should be intrusted with public offices is 
not, as many people think, a sudden innovation ; it was a 
common practice of the early republic. . . . 

" On the whole, if you review all our wars, never has one 
been finished in a shorter time than that with the Gauls. 
Thenceforth they have preserved an unbroken and loyal 
peace. United with us as they now are by manners, educa- 
tion, and intermarriage, let them bring us their gold and 
their wealth rather than enjoy it in isolation. Everything, 
senators, which we now hold to be of the highest antiquity 
was once new. Plebeian magistrates came after patrician; 
Latin magistrates after plebeian ; magistrates of other Italian 
peoples after Latin. This practice, too, will establish itself, 
and what we are this day justifying by precedents will be 
itself a precedent." 

The emperor's speech was followed b)^ decree of the 
senate, and the ^dui were the first to obtain the right of 
becoming senators at Rome. 

In the reign of Claudius, by the benign and gracious provi- 
dence of God, Peter, that great and powerful apostle, who 
by his courage took the lead of all the rest, was conducted 
to Rome. . . . Like a noble commander of God, fortified 
with divine armor, he bore the precious merchandise of the 
revealed light from the East to those in the West, announc- 
ing the light itself, and the salutary doctrine of the soul — 
the proclamation of the kingdom of God. 

Either standing or sitting, but especially when he lay 
asleep, Claudius had a majestic and graceful appearance ; 
for he was tall, but not slender. His gray locks became him 
well, and he had a full neck. But his knees were feeble and 
failed him in walking, so that his gait was ungainly on state 
occasions as well as when he was taking exercise. Boisterous 
in his laughter, he was still more so in his wrath. . . . He 
stammered, too, in his speech, and had a tremulous motion 
of the head at all times, but especially when he was engaged 
in any business, however trifling. 



Burrus and Seneca 



265 



Toward the close of his life he gave clear indications of Suetonius, 

repentance for his marriage with Agrippina and his adoption ^'■"■"■'^'■'^^^ 45- 
of (her son) Nero. 

He died on the third of the ides of October ... in the Death, 

sixty-fourth year of his age and the fourteenth of his reign. Suetonius, 

Claudius, 45. 

Nero 



Nero was seventeen years of age at the death of Claudius, 
and as soon as that event became pubhc, he showed himself 
to the guards between the hours of six and seven ; for the 
omens were so unfavorable that no earlier time of the day 
was deemed proper. On the steps before the palace gate 
the soldiers unanimously saluted him emperor, and then car- 
ried him in a litter to the camp. Thence after he had made 
a short speech to the troops, they brought him into the senate- 
house, where he remained till evening. Of all the immense 
honors which were heaped upon him he refused none but 
the title Father of his Country, and this on account of his 
youth. 

Afranius Burrus and Annseus Seneca guided the emperor's 
youth with a unity of purpose seldom found where authority 
is shared ; and though their accomplishments were wholly 
different, they had equal influence. Burrus with his soldier's 
discipline and severe manners, Seneca with lessons of elo- 
quence and a dignified courtesy, strove alike to confine the 
frailty of the prince's youth — so far as he disliked virtue — 
within allowable indulgences. 

In sketching the plan of his future government, Nero care- 
fully avoided everything which had recently kindled hatred. 
" I will not be judge in all cases," he said, " nor will I by 
confining the accuser and the accused within the same walls, 
allow the power of a few favorites to grow dangerously great. 
In my house nothing shall be venal, nothing open to intrigue ; 
my private establishment and the state shall be kept entirely 
distinct. The senate shall retain its ancient powers. Italy 



Nero 
Claudius 
Caesar em- 
peror, 54-68 

A.D. 

Suetonius, 
Nero, 8. 



His 

advisers. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, 
xiii. 2. 



His address 
to the sen- 
ate. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, 
xiii. 4. 



266 Claudian and Flavian Emperors 



His accom- 
plishments 
in music. 

Suetonius, 
Nero, 20. 



The 

" Golden 

House." 

Suetonius, 
Nero, 31. 



and the state-provinces shall plead their causes before the 
tribunals of the consuls, who will give them a hearing from 
the senators. Of the armies I will myself take charge, as 
especially intrusted to me," 

Among the liberal arts which he was taught in his youth 
was music ; and immediately after his advancement to 
the imperial office, he sent for Turpnus, a harpist of the 
highest reputation, who flourished at the time. After sitting 
with him several days as he sang and played after dinner 
till late at night, Nero began gradually to practice on the 
instrument himself, , , . He made his first public appearance 
at Naples ; and although the theatre quivered with the sud- 
den shock of an earthquake, he did not desist until he had 
finished the piece of music he had begun, . . . 

At the same time he chose young men of the equestrian 
rank and above five thousand robust young fellows of the 
common people, to learn various kinds of applause . . . 
which they were to practise in his honor whenever he 
performed. 

In nothing was he so prodigal as in his buildings. He 
completed his palace by extending it from the Palatine to 
the EsquiUne Hill, At first he called this addition simply 
the Passage ; but after it was burned down and rebuilt, he 
named it the Golden House, Of the dimensions and furni- 
ture it may suffice to give the following description. The 
porch was so high that there stood in it a colossal statue of 
Nero a hundred and twenty feet in height; and the space 
included in it was so ample that it had triple porticos a 
mile in length, and a lake like a sea, surrounded with build- 
ings which had the appearance of a city. Within its area 
were corn-fields, vineyards, pastures, and woods, which con- 
tained a great number of animals of various kinds both 
tame and wild. In other parts the palace was entirely 
overlaid with gold and adorned with jewels and mother of 
pearl. The dining rooms were vaulted, and compartments 
of the ceilings, inlaid with ivory, were made to revolve and 



Humanity of the Mob 267 

scatter flowers ; they contained pipes, too, which shed un- 
guents upon the guests. . . . When he dedicated this mag- 
nificent building after finishing it, all he said in approval 
was, "Now I have a dwelling fit for a man." 

Soon afterward the city prefect was murdered by one of A cruel law. 
his own slaves, either because the slave had been refused Tacitus, 
his freedom, for which he had made a bargain, or in jeal- ""'^ ^' '"^* 
ousyof love in which he could not brook his master's rivalry. 
Ancient custom required that the whole slave establishment 
which had dwelt under the same roof should be dragged to 
execution. But a sudden gathering of the populace, to save 
so many innocent lives, brought matters to actual rebellion. 
Even in the senate there was a strong feeling on the part of 
those who shrank from extreme measures, though a majority 
were opposed to an innovation. 

Clamorous voices rose from all who pitied the number, Humane pro- 
age, or sex of the slaves, as well as the undoubted innocence 'tests. 
of the great majority. Still the party which voted for their "^^^""i^' •„ 
execution prevailed. But the sentence could not be carried 45. 
out in the face of a dense and threatening mob armed with 
stones and firebrands. Then the emperor reprimanded 
the people by edict, and lined with a force of soldiers the 
entire route by which the condemned had to be dragged to 
execution. 

A disaster followed, whether accidental or treacherously a great fire 
contrived by the emperor, is uncertain ; for authors have ^° Rome. 
given both accounts. It was a more dreadful conflagration '^^^^f^hx-v. 
than had ever before visited this city. The fire started in 38. 
that part of the Circus which adjoins the Palatine and Cslian 
hills, where amid the shops containing inflammable wares, 
the conflagration broke out and instantly became so fierce 
and so rapid from the wind that it seized in its grasp the 
entire length of the Circus. For here were no houses fenced 
in by solid masonry, or temples surrounded by walls, or any 
other obstacle to cause delay. The furious blaze ran first 
through the level portion of the city, with those narrow 



268 Claudian and Flavian Emperors 



The excite- 
ment of the 
people. 



Despair. 



Nero 

relieves the 
distress. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, xv. 
39- 



winding passages and irregular streets which characterized 
old Rome. 

Meanwhile one could hear the wailings of terror-stricken 
women, and could see the feebleness of age, the helpless 
inexperience of childhood, the crowds who sought to save 
themselves or others, dragging out the infirm or waiting for 
them, and by their hurry in the one case, by their delay in 
the other, aggravating the confusion. Often while they 
looked behind them, they were intercepted by flames on 
their side or in their face. Or if they reached a refuge close 
at hand, this too was seized by the fire ; and so they found 
that even places which they had imagined remote, were in- 
volved in the same calamity. 

Doubting at last what they should avoid or whither they 
should flee, they crowded the streets or flung themselves 
down in the fields, while some who had lost their all, even 
their daily bread, and others from love of their kinsfolk, 
whom they had been unable to rescue, perished though 
escape was open to them. And no one dared stop the 
mischief, because of incessant threats from a number of 
persons who forbade the putting out of the flames, and 
because others openly threw brands, and kept shouting that 
some one had given them authority ; either they sought more 
freedom for plundering or they were obeying orders. 

At this time Nero was at Antium, and did not return to 
Rome until the fire approached his house, which he had 
built to connect the palace with the gardens of Maecenas. 
It could not be stopped, however, from devouring the palace, 
the house, and everything around it. But to relieve the 
people, driven homeless out of doors, he threw open to them 
the Campus Martius and the public buildings of Agrippa, and 
even his own gardens, and raised temporary structures to 
shelter the destitute crowd. Supplies of food he brought up 
from Ostia and the neighboring towns, and reduced the price 
of corn to three sesterces a peck. 

These acts, though popular, produced no effect; for a 



Rome Rebuilt 



269 



Annals, XV. 
43- 



rumor had gone forth everywhere that at the very time when 
the city was in flames the emperor appeared on a private 
stage and sang of the destruction of Troy, comparing present 
misfortunes with the disasters of antiquity. 

So much of Rome as was left unoccupied by his mansion New Rome. 
was built up, not as it had been after its burning by the Tacitus, 
Gauls, without any regularity or in any fashion, but with rows 
of streets according to measurement, with broad thorough- 
fares, with a restriction on the height of houses, with open 
spaces, and the further addition of colonnades as a protec- 
tion to the frontage of the blocks of tenements. These col- 
onnades Nero promised to erect at his own expense, and to 
hand over the open spaces, when cleared of debris, to the 
landlords. He also offered rewards proportioned to each 
person's position and property, and prescribed a period 
within which they were to obtain them on the completion 
of so many houses or blocks of building. He fixed on the 
marshes of Ostia for the reception of the rubbish, and 
arranged that the ships which had brought up corn by 
the Tiber, should sail down the river with cargoes of this 
rubbish. 

The buildings themselves, to a certain height, were to be Advantages 
constructed sohdly, — and without wooden beams, — of stone ^^^^^^ °^^ 
from Gabii or Alba, as that material is impervious to fire. 
And to provide that the water which individuals had illegally 
used might flow in greater abundance in several places for 
the public use, officers were appointed, and every one was 
to have in the open court the means of stopping a fire. 
Every building, too, was to be enclosed by its own wall, not 
by one common to others. These changes, which were 
liked for their usefulness, added beauty as well to the new 
city. Some thought, however, that the old arrangement had 
been more conducive to health, as the narrow streets with 
the high roofs were not so penetrated with the sun's heat, 
whereas now the open space, unsheltered by any shade, is 
scorched with a fiercer glow. 



270 



Claudian and Flavian Emperors 



Persecution 
of the 
Christians. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, xv. 
44. 



Eusebius, 
Ecclesiasti- 
cal History, 
ii. 25. 



(There were 
wars in the 
East, but no 
conquest.) 



Suicide of 
Nero. 

Eutropius 
vii. 15. 

(Northeast 
of the city.) 



But all human efforts, — all the lavish gifts of the emperor, 
and the propitiations of the gods, — did not banish the sinis- 
ter belief that the fire was due to an order. To rid himself 
of this report, therefore, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted 
the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their evil 
deeds — a class of people whom the populace called 
Christians. 

In addition to all other crimes, this was yet wanting to 
complete the catalogue, that he was the first of the emperors 
to show himself an enemy of piety toward God. This fact 
is recorded by the Roman Tertullian in nearly the following 
language : " Examine your records. There you will find that 
Nero was the first to persecute this doctrine, especially when, 
after subduing all the East, he exercised his cruelty against 
all at Rome. Such is the man of whom we boast as the 
leader in our punishment. For in knowing who he was, 
any one may know also that there could scarcely be anything 
great and good which was not condemned by Nero." Pub- 
licly announcing himself in this way as the chief enemy of 
God, Nero was led on in his fury to slaughter the apostles. 
Paul is said therefore to have been beheaded at Rome 
under Nero, and Peter to have been crucified in the same 
reign. ... If you will go to the Vatican Mount or to the 
Ostian road, you will find there the trophies of those who 
have laid the foundation of this church. 

When Nero's conduct had made him detestable to the 
city of Rome, and every one had deserted him, and the 
senate had declared him an enemy, and he was sought for 
to be punished, he fled from the palace, and killed himself 
in a suburban villa of one of his freedmen. This place was 
between the Salarian and Nomentan roads, at the fourth 
milestone from the city. . . . 

He died in the thirty-second year of his age and the four- 
teenth of his reign ; and in him all the family of Augustus 
became extinct. 



The First Plebeian Emperor 271 



Vespasian 



(Then came the brief reigns of Galba, Otho, and VitelHus.) 
To Vitellius succeeded Vespasian, who had been chosen em- 
peror in Palestine, — a prince of obscure birth but worthy 
to be compared with the best emperors, and in pubUc hfe 
greatly distinguished. Sent by Claudius into Germany and 
afterward into Britain, he fought thirty-two times with the 
enemy ; he also added to the Roman empire two powerful 
nations, twenty towns, and the Isle of Wight on the coast 
of Britain. 

At Rome he acted with the greatest forbearance during 
his reign, though he was somewhat too eager for money. 
He did not deprive any one of it unjustly, however, and 
even when he had collected money with the greatest dih- 
gence and anxiety, he was in the habit of distributing it 
most readily, especially to the needy ; so that the liberahty 
of no prince before him was greater or more judicious. His 
disposition, too, was so mild and amiable that he never will- 
ingly inflicted a severer penalty than banishment, even on 
persons convicted of treason against himself. 

He let slip no opportunity for reforming the discipline of 
the army. When therefore a young man came perfumed to 
thank the emperor for having appointed him to command a 
squadron of horse, Vespasian turned away in disgust, and 
with this sharp reprimand — "I should prefer to have you 
smell of garlic " — revoked the commission. 

Among his new public buildings was his temple of Peace 
near the Forum, and on the Ceelian Mount that of Claudius, 
which Agrippina had begun but Nero had almost destroyed. 
A third was an amphitheatre in the middle of the city, for 
he found that Augustus had planned such a work. He puri- 
fied the senatorial and equestrian ranks, which had greatly 
fallen off in numbers and had lost honor through the neg- 
lect of his predecessors. After expelling the unworthy, he 
chose in their places the most honorable persons in Italy 



Titus 

Flavius Ves- 
pasianus 
emperor, 69- 
79 A.D. 

Eutropius 
vii. 19. 



His love of 
money. 



His military 
discipline. 

Suetonius, 
Vespasian, 8, 



His 
buildings. 

Suetonius, 
Vespasian, 9. 



272 Claudian and Flavian Emperors 



The 
wealthy. 

Tacitus, 
Annals, iii. 
55- 



Better 
morals. 



A patron of 
learning. 

Suetonius, 
Vespasian, 
18. 



and the provinces. (This measure brought an improvement 
in morals.) It is well to trace the causes of the change. 

Formerly rich or highly distinguished noble families sank 
into ruin from a passion for splendor. Even then men were 
still at liberty to court the city populace, the allies, and 
foreign princes, and to be courted in return. Every one, 
therefore, who from his wealth, his mansion, and his estab- 
lishment, was especially grand, gained too great a lustre by 
his name and his many clients. 

After the savage massacres in which greatness of renown 
was fatal, the survivors turned to wiser ways. The new men 
who were often admitted into the senate from the towns, 
colonies, and even from the provinces, introduced their house- 
hold thrift, and though many of them by good luck or energy 
attained an old age of wealth, still their former tastes re- 
mained. But the chief encourager of strict manners was 
Vespasian, himself old-fashioned in his dress and diet. 
Henceforth a respectful feeling toward the prince and a 
love of emulation proved more effective than legal penalties 
or terrors. Or possibly there is in all things a kind of cycle, 
and there may be moral revolutions just as there are changes 
of seasons. But everything was not better in the past, for 
our age too has produced many examples of excellence and 
culture for posterity to imitate. May we still keep up with 
our ancestors a rivalry in all that is honorable ! 

An earnest patron of learning and the Hberal arts, Vespasian 
granted to the Latin and Greek professors of rhetoric the 
yearly salary of a hundred thousand sesterces each from the 
treasury. He bought, too, the freedom of superior poets 
and artists. . . . When some one offered to convey some 
immense columns into the Capitol at a small expense by a 
mechanical contrivance, the emperor rewarded him very 
handsomely for the invention, but refused to accept the ser- 
vice, saying, " Suffer me to find maintenance for the poor 
people." 



The Destruction of Jerusalem 273 



Vespasian committed the care of the war against the Jews 
to his son Titus ; for after the ascension of our Saviour, the 
Jews, in addition to their wickedness against him, were now 
incessantly plotting mischief against his apostles. First they 
slew Stephen by stoning him, next James, who first obtained 
the episcopal seat at Jerusalem, after the ascension of our 
Saviour. . . . But the rest of the apostles they harassed in 
many ways with a view to destroying them, and they drove 
them from the land of Judea. These apostles accordingly 
went to preach the gospel to all nations, relying upon the 
aid of Christ, when he said, " Go and teach all nations in my 
name." The whole body of the church at Jerusalem, how- 
ever, — when commanded by a divine revelation given to 
men of approved piety there before the war, — removed from 
the city, and dwelt at a certain town called Pella beyond the 
Jordan. 

The Jews formed their line close under their walls, 
whence if successful they might venture to advance, and 
where if repulsed they had a refuge at hand. . . . The 
Romans then began to prepare for an assault. It seemed 
beneath them to await the result of famine. . . . 

But the commanding situation of the city the Jews had 
strengthened by enormous works which would have been a 
thorough defence even for level ground. Two hills of great 
height they fenced in with walls skilfully bent inward in 
such a manner that the flank of an assailant was exposed 
to missiles. The work ended in a precipice ; the towers 
they had raised to a height of sixty feet where the hill lent 
its aid to the fortification ; where the ground fell, they were 
a hundred and twenty feet high. These towers presented a 
marvellous appearance, and to a distant spectator seemed to 
be of uniform height. 

There had been prodigies, which this nation, prone to 
superstition but hating all religious rites, did not deem it 
lawful to expiate by offerings and sacrifice. They had seen 
hosts joining battle in the skies, the fiery gleam of arms, the 



The Jewish 
War. 

Eusebius, 
Ecclesiasti- 
cal History, 
ii.S- 



Siege of 
Jerusalem. 

Tacitus, His- 
tories, v. it. 



Prodigies. 

Tacitus, His- 
tories, V. 13. 



Their mean- 
ing. 



The fate of 
the Jews. 

Eusebius, 
Ecclesiasti- 
cal History, 
iii. 7. 



r^ 



Suetonius, 

Vespasian, 
24. 



Titus Fla- 
vins Vespa- 
sianus em- 
peror, 79-81 

A.D. 

Suetonius, 
Titus, I. 



Ib.3- 



274 Claudian and Flavian Emperors 

temple illuminated by a sudden radiance from the clouds. 
The doors of the inner shrine suddenly opened, and a voice 
of more than mortal tone was heard to cry that the Gods 
were going away. At the same instant there was a mighty 
stir as of departure. 

A few put a fearful meaning on these events, but in most 
people was a firm persuasion that the ancient records of 
their priests contained a prediction that at this very time 
the East was to grow powerful, and rulers from Judea were 
to acquire universal empire. These mysterious prophecies 
had pointed to Vespasian and Titus ; but the common 
people, with the usual blindness of ambition, had interpreted 
these mighty omens in their own favor, and could not be 
brought even by disasters to believe the truth. 

In computing the whole number of the slain, the historian 
says, that eleven hundred thousand perished by famine, and 
that the rest, including factions and robbers, mutually in- 
forming against each other after the capture, were put to 
death. Of the young men the tallest and those distinguished 
for beauty were kept for the triumph. Of the remaining 
multitude all above seventeen were sent as prisoners to labor 
in the mines of Egypt. Great nuinbers, however, were 
distributed among the provinces, to be destroyed by the 
sword or by wild beasts in the theatres. Those under seven- 
teen were carried away to be sold as slaves. In the last- 
narned class alone were as many as ninety thousand. 

Vespasian died on the eighth of the calends of July at the 
age of sixty-nine years. 

Titus 

Titus, who had the same surname as his father, was the 
darling and delight of mankind ; so much did the natural 
genius, address, and good fortune he possessed tend to win 
the favor of all. 

While yet a boy, he was remarkable for his noble endow- 
ments of body and mind ; and as he advanced in years, 



Character 



275 



these qualities became still more prominent. His fine per- 
son combined an equal mixture of majesty and grace ; 
though strong, he was not tall but somewhat corpulent. 
Gifted with an excellent memory and a capacity for all the 
arts of peace and war, he was a perfect master of the use of 
arms and riding, very ready in the Latin and Greek lan- 
guages both in verse and in prose ; and such was the facility he 
possessed in both that he would make speeches and versify 
extempore. 

So far from being unacquainted with music, he could sing 
and play on the harp sweetly and scientifically. I have been 
told, too, by many persons that he was remarkably quick in 
writing short-hand. Often in merriment and jest he would 
engage with his secretaries in the imitation of any handwrit- 
ing he saw, and would often say, " I am admirably quahfied 
for forgery." 

Some dreadful accidents happened in his reign, — an 
eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Campania, and a fire at 
Rome which continued during three days and three nights. 
Then, too, there was a plague such as was scarcely ever 
known before. 

During many days there had been shocks of an earth- 
quake, which alarmed us little, as they are frequent in Cam- 
pania ; but they were so violent that night that they not 
only shook everything about us, but seemed in fact to 
threaten total destruction. My mother flew to my room, 
where she found me rising in order to awaken her. We 
went out into a small court belonging to the house, which 
separated the sea from the building. It was now morning, 
but the light was very faint and languid ; the buildings all 
round us tottered, and though we stood on open ground, yet 
as the place was narrow and confined, there was no remain- 
ing without imminent danger. 

We therefore resolved to leave the town. The people 
followed us in the utmost consternation, and pressed in 
great crowds about us on our way out. After going a con- 



The 

eruption of 
Vesuvius, 
79 A.D. 

Suetonius, 
Titus, 8. 

Pliny (the 
Younger) , 
Letters, vi. 20. 



Flight of 
Pliny and 
his mother. 



276 Claudian and Flavian Emperors 



On the road 
to Misenum. 



In total 
darkness. 



venient distance from the houses, we stood still in the midst 
of a most dangerous and awe-inspiring scene. The carriages 
we had ordered to be drawn out were so agitated backward 
and forward, though on the most level ground, that we could 
not keep them steady even by supporting them with large 
stones. The sea seemed to roll back upon itself, and to be 
driven from its banks by the convulsive motions of the 
earth. Certainly the shore was considerably enlarged and 
several sea-animals were left on it. On the other hand, a 
black and dreadful cloud, bursting with fiery, serpentine 
vapor, darted out a long train of flame, which resembled 
flashes of lightning, but were much larger. . . . 

Soon afterward the cloud seemed to descend, and cover 
the whole ocean ; as in fact it entirely hid the island of 
Caprese and the promontory of Misenum. My mother con- 
jured me to make my escape at any rate, which, as I was 
young, I might easily accomplish. As for herself, she said, 
her age and corpulency rendered all attempts of that sort 
impossible ; she would willingly meet death, however, if she 
could have the satisfaction of seeing that she was not the 
occasion of mine. But I absolutely refused to leave her ; 
and taking her by the hand, I led her on. She complied 
with great reluctance, and not without many reproaches to 
herself for being the cause of retarding my flight. The 
ashes now began to fall upon us, though in no great quan- 
tity. I turned my head and saw behind us a thick smoke, 
which came rolling after us like a torrent. I proposed while 
we had yet any light, to turn out of the high road, lest she 
should be pressed to death in the dark by the crowd which 
followed us. 

We had scarcely stepped out of the path, when darkness 
overspread us, not like that of a cloudy night, or when there 
is no moon, but of a room when it is shut up and all the 
lights extinct. Nothing then was to be heard but the shrieks 
of women, the screams of children, and the cries of men. 
Some were calling for their children, others for their parents. 



The Eruption of Vesuvius 277 

others for their husbands; they distinguished one another 
only by the voice. One was lamenting his own fate, another 
that of his family ; some were wishing to die from very 
fear of dying ; some were hfting their hands to the gods ; 
but the greater number imagined that the last and eternal 
night had come, to destroy the gods and the world 
together. . . . 

At length a glimmering light appeared, which we imagined Fire and 
to be the forerunner of an approaching burst of flame rather ^^^^s- 
than the return of day, and in this respect we were right. 
The fire fell at a distance from us, however, and then we 
were immersed in thick darkness ; a heavy shower of ashes 
fell upon us, which we were obliged every now and then to 
shake off, otherwise we should have been overwhelmed and 
buried in a heap. ... At last this terrible darkness gradu- 
ally faded, Uke a cloud of smoke ; the real day returned and 
even the sun appeared, though very faintly, just as when an 
eclipse is coming on. Every object which presented itself 
seemed changed, for it was covered with white ashes, as with 
a deep snow. 

We returned to Misenum, where we refreshed ourselves as At 
well as we could, and passed an anxious night between ™'senum. 
hope and fear, though in fact with a much larger share of (Pliny the 
the latter. . . . Notwithstanding the danger we had passed, was'^observ- 
and that which still threatened us, my mother and I had 'ps *he erup- 
no intention of leaving Misenum till we should receive 
some account of my uncle. 

Amid these many great disasters Titus showed not only The 
the concern which might be expected from a prince, but ^^/J^L^ 
even the affection of a father for his people. . . . He g t • g 
chose by lot from among the men of consular rank com- Titus, 8. 
missioners for repairing the losses in Campania. The 
estates of those who had perished by the eruption of Vesu- 
vius, and who had left no heirs, he applied to the repair of 
the ruined cities. 

Amid all these favorable circumstances he was cut off by a. 10. 



Titus 

Flavius Do- 
mitianus 
emperor, 8i- 
96 A.D. 

Eutropius 
vii. 23. 



Suetonius, 
Domitian, 9. 



A patron of 
learning. 

Suetonius, 
Do?niiian, 20. 

Cf. p. 275. 



Military 
affairs. 

Suetonius, 
Domitian, 6. 



278 Claudian and Flavian Emperors 

an untimely death, more to the loss of mankind than of 
himself. 

Domitian 

The person who next received the imperial dignity was 
Domitian, the younger brother of Titus, but more like 
Nero, Caligula, or Tiberius than like his father or brother. In 
the beginning of his reign, however, he used his power 
with moderation. 

On his first coming into authority, he felt great abhor- 
rence for the shedding of blood. Before his father's arrival 
in Rome, Domitian called to mind the verse of Vergil, 

Ere impious man, restrained from blood in vain, 
Began to feast on flesh of bullocks slain. 

Filled with this sentiment, he planned to issue a procla- 
mation to forbid the sacrifice of oxen. Before his accession 
to power and for some time afterward he hardly gave the 
least ground for being suspected of covetousness or avarice ; 
on the contrary he often afforded proofs not only of his 
justice, but of his liberahty. 

Though in the beginning of his reign he gave up the 
study of the liberal sciences, he took care to restore, at a 
vast expense, the libraries which had been burned. Every- 
where he collected manuscripts, and he sent scribes to 
Alexandria, to copy or to correct them. Yet he never gave 
himself the trouble to read history or poetry, or to use his 
pen even for his private purposes. He read nothing but 
the Comvie7itiiries and Acts of Tiberius Csesar. His letters, 
speeches, and edicts were all drawn up for him by others ; 
though he could converse with elegance, and sometimes ex- 
pressed himself in memorable language. 

He undertook several expeditions, some from choice and 
some from necessity. That against the Catti was unpro- 
voked, but the one against the Sarmations was necessary ; 
for an entire legion, with the commander, had been des- 
troyed by them. Two expeditions he sent against the 



The Conquest of Britain 279 



Dacians. (Through Agricola he completed the conquest 
of Britain.) 

Appointed governor of Britain, Agricola chose rather to 
confer offices and employments upon such as would not 
offend, than to condemn those who had offended. The 
expense resulting from an increase of the military tribunes 
he made easier by a just and equal assessment ; he abolished 
those private exactions which were more grievous than the 
taxes themselves. For the inhabitants had been compelled 
in mockery to sit by their own locked-up granaries, to buy 
corn needlessly, and to sell it again at a stated price. Long 
and difficult journeys had also been imposed upon them ; 
for the several districts, instead of being allowed to supply 
the nearest winter quarters, were forced to carry their corn 
to remote and out-of-the-way places. Thus what was easy 
for all to procure was converted into an article of gain to 
a few. 

By suppressing these abuses in the first year of his admin- 
istration, he established a favorable idea of peace, which 
through the neghgence or oppression of earlier rulers, had 
been no less dreaded than war. 

In order by a taste of pleasure to reclaim the natives from 
that rude and unsettled state which prompted them to war, 
and win them to peace and quiet, he induced them by 
private urging and public encouragements to erect temples, 
courts of justice, and dwelling-houses. He bestowed praise 
upon those who were prompt in carrying out his intention, 
and reprimanded the slow. In this way he promoted the 
spirit of emulation which had all the force of necessity. 

Preferring the natural genius of the Britons to the attain- 
ments of the Gauls, he took care to provide a liberal educa- 
tion for the sons of the chieftains. . . . These attempts met 
with such success that they who lately disdained to use the 
Roman language were now ambitious to become eloquent. 
Hence they began to hold the Roman dress in honor and 
to wear the toga. 



(TheCatti.or 
Chatti, were 
a large Ger- 
man tribe; 
the Dacians, 
north of the 
Danube, 
were prob- 
ably related 
to the Thra- 
cians ; the 
Sannatians, 
in eastern 
Europe, were 
mostly 
Slavic.) 

Britain. 

Tacitus, 
Agricola, 19. 



lb. 20. 



Civilization 
and educa- 
tion. 

Tacitus, 
Agricola, 21. 



280 Claudian and Flavian Emperors 



Retirement 
of Agricola. 

Tacitus, 
Agricola, 
39- 
lb. 40. 



Domitian's 
archery. 

Suetonius, 
Domitian,i.g. 



Justice. 

Suetonius, 
Domitian, 8. 



Domitian's greatest dread was that the name of a private 
person might be exalted above that of a prince. Agricola 
had delivered the province in peace and security to his 
successor ; and lest his entrance into the city might be 
rendered too conspicuous by the gathering and the acclama- 
tions of the people, he declined the salutations of his friends 
by arriving in the night ; and he went by night, as he was 
commanded, to the palace. There after being received with 
a slight embrace but with not a word spoken, he was com- 
pelled to mingle with the servile throng. 

In this situation he tried by the practice of new virtues 
to soften the glare of military reputation, which is offensive 
to those who themselves Hve in indolence. Resigning him- 
self to ease and quiet, he was modest in his garb and equi- 
page, affable in conversation, and in public was accompanied 
by one or two only of his friends. The many are accustomed 
to form their ideas of great men from their retinue and figure. 
When they saw Agricola, accordingly, they were apt to call 
in question his renown ; few could interpret his conduct. 

Domitian did not like the exercise of arms, but was ex- 
pert in the use of the bow. Many persons have often seen 
him kill a hundred wild animals of various kinds at his 
Alban retreat. He would cleverly fix two arrows in each 
one's head like a pair of horns. Sometimes he would aim 
the arrows with such precision against the expanded hand 
of a boy standing at a distance, that they all passed between 
the boy's fingers without hurting him. 

In the administration of justice he was careful and dili- 
gent ; and he often sat in the Forum to cancel the judg- 
ments of the Court of One Hundred, which had been 
procured through favor or interest. . . . On judges con- 
victed of taking bribes, as well as on their assistants, he set 
a mark of infamy. . . . He took such care, too, in pun- 
ishing magistrates of the city and governors of provinces, 
guilty of malversation, that they were never at any other 
time more moderate or more just. 



Personal Appearance 



281 



Personal 
appearance. 

Suetonius, 
Domitian. 18. 



He was tall, with a modest, ruddy face. Though his eyes 
were large, he was dim-sighted. Naturally graceful in per- 
son, especially in his youth, — excepting only that his toes 
were bent somewhat inward, — he was at last disfigured by 
baldness, corpulence, and a slenderness of his legs, which a 
long illness had reduced. ... In a small tract which he 
published and addressed to a friend Concernitig the Preser- 
vation of the Hair, he uses for their mutual consolation the 
following words : — 

" ' Seest thou my graceful mien, my stately form? ' And yet the fate 
of my hair awaits me. I bear with fortitude, however, this loss of my 
hair w hile I am still young. Remember that nothing is more fascinating 
than beauty, but nothing of shorter duration." 

The people showed little concern at his death (by assassi- Death. 
nation), but the soldiers were roused by it to great indigna- 
tion, and immediately tried to have him ranked among the 
gods. 

Life and Manners 



Suetonius, 
Domifian, 23. 



The poor among the Romans ought long ago to have emi- 
grated in a body. Not easily do those emerge from obscur- 
ity whose noble qualities are cramped by domestic poverty : 
but at Rome the attempt is still harder for them ; a great 
price must be paid for a wretched lodging, a great price for 
a slave's keep, a great price for a modest little dinner. A 
man is ashamed to dine off earthenware, which he would not 
think discreditable if he were suddenly transported to the 
Marsians and a Sabine repast, and contented there with 
wearing a thick, sea-green capote. 

There is a large part of Italy, if we accept the truth, in 
which no one wears a toga but the dead. Whenever even 
the majesty of festive days is celebrated in a grassy theatre, 
and at length the well-known interlude appears on the stage, 
when the rustic infant in its mother's lap is frightened at the 
gaping of the ghastly mask, there you will see an equality of 
dress, in the orchestra stalls and among the people alike ; 



City and 
country life. 

Juvenal, 
Satires, iii. 



(The Mar- 
sians, the 
Sabines, and 
other rural 
people of 
Italy lived 
far more 
simply than 
the Romans 
of this time.) 



282 Claudian and Flavian Emperors 



Dress in 

country and 
city. 



Falling 
houses. 



Scene at a 
fire; Ucale- 
gon burned 
out. 



Codrus 
burned out. 



A rich 
man's fire. 



and as the garb of their high office, white tunics are sufficient 
for the highest sediles. 

Here (in Rome) splendor of dress is carried beyond peo- 
ple's means ; here something more than is enough is occa- 
sionally taken out of another man's strong-box. This vice 
is common to us all ; here all of us live in a state of preten- 
tious poverty. Why detain you further? In Rome every- 
thing costs a price. . . . 

Who fears, or ever has feared, the falling of a house at 
cool Prseneste, or at Volsinii seated among the wooded hills, 
or at primitive Gabii, or on the heights of sloping Tibur? 
We inhabit a city propped up to a great extent with thin 
buttresses ; for in this way the steward prevents the houses 
from falling ; and when he has plastered over the gaping of 
an old crack, he bids us sleep secure, with ruin overhanging 
us. The place to live in is where there are no fires, no 
nocturnal alarms. 

Already Ucalegon is calling for water, already he is remov- 
ing his chattels, already your third story is smoking : you 
yourself know nothing about it ; for if the alarm begins from 
the bottom of the stairs, he will be the last to burn whom 
the tiling alone protects from the rain, where the soft doves 
lay their eggs. 

Codrus had a couch too small for his Procula, six little 
jugs, the ornament of his sideboard, and a tiny drinking cup 
beneath into the bargain, and a figure of Chiron reclining 
under the same marble ; a chest, old by this time, contained 
some Greek books, and the barbarian mice were gnawing 
the divine poems. Codrus had nothing; who denies this? 
And yet the wretched man lost all that nothing (by the fire) ; 
but the crowning point of his misery is, that though naked 
and begging for broken scraps, no one will help him with 
food, no one with shelter or a roof. 

If the great house of Asturicus has been destroyed, we 
have the matrons dishevelled, the nobles in mourning, the 
prgetor adjourning his court ; then we groan over the acci- 



Life in Rome 



28 



dents of the town, then we detest fire. The fire is still burn- 
ing and already some one runs up to make a present of 
marbles, and share in the expenses of rebuilding. One will 
contribute nude, white statues, another some masterpiece of 
Euphranor or Polycletus ; some lady will give antique orna- 
ments of Asiatic gods, another man books and bookcases 
and a bust of Minerva, another a bushel of silver. Persicus 
replaces what is lost by choicer and more numerous objects, 
most sumptuous of childless men, and is suspected with reason 
of having himself set fire to his own house. 

If you are capable of being torn away from the games of 
the Circus, an excellent house can be procured at Sora, or 
Fabrateria, or Frusino, for the same price at which you now 
hire a dark hole for a single year. There you have a little 
garden ; and a shallow well, that does not require to be 
worked with a rope, irrigates your tender plants with easy 
draught. Live in love with your hoe, and the overseer of 
your own trim garden, from which you could furnish a banquet 
for a hundred Pythagoreans. It is something, in whatever 
place, to have made yourself the owner of a single lizard. 

Many a sick man here dies from want of sleep, the indis- 
position itself having been produced by food undigested, 
and clinging to the fevered stomach. For what hired lodg- 
ings allow of sleep ? Rich men alone can sleep in the city. 
Hence the origin of the disease. The passage of carriages 
in the narrow windings of the streets, and the abuse of the 
drovers from the herds when they are brought to a stand, 
would rob of sleep even Drusus and the sea-calves. 

If invited to a " function," the rich man will be carried 
through the yielding crowd, and will speed over their heads 
on his huge Liburnian bearers, and will read on his way, or 
write, or even sleep inside ; for a litter with closed windows 
is productive of sleep. Yet he will arrive before us ; we, in 
our hurry, are impeded by a wave in front, while the multi- 
tude which follows us presses on our sides in dense array ; 
one strikes me with his elbow, another with a hard pole, one 



" Buy a 
country- 
home." 



(The Pythag- 
oreans were 
vegetarians ; 
Greece, 
P- 95-) 

" You can- 
not sleep in 
Rome." 

(The em- 
peror Clau- 
dius Drusus 
and the sea- 
calves were 
famous 
sleepers.) 



The rich in 
Utters ; the 
poor on foot. 



284 Claudian and Flavian Emperors 



The dangers 
of the night ; 
falling pot- 
tery. 



Drunkards, 
burglars, 
and foot- 
pads. 



" Off for the 
country." 



knocks a beam against my head, another a wine-jar. My 
legs are sticky with mud ; before long I am trodden on upon 
all sides by large feet, and the hobnails of a soldier stick 
into my toe. . . . 

Observe now the different and distinct dangers of the 
night ; what a height it is to the lofty house-tops, from which 
a piece of pottery strikes your pate as often as cracked and 
broken utensils fall from the windows; with what a weight 
they dint and damage the flint pavement when they strike it. 
You may well be accounted remiss and improvident about a 
sudden accident, if you go out to supper without having 
made your will. . . . 

(The drunken and insolent fellow) despises me, whom the 
moon escorts home, or the dim light of a candle, whose 
wick I regulate and husband. Mark the preliminaries of the 
wretched brawl, if brawl it be, where he strikes and I alone 
am beaten. He stands facing you, and orders you to stand ; 
you must needs obey, for what are you to do when a mad- 
man forces you, and he too stronger than yourself ? " Whence 
do you come?" he exclaims. "With whose vinegar, with 
whose beans are you gorged? What cobbler cut leeks or 
sodden sheep's-head with you? Do you answer me nothing? 
Speak, or be kicked ! Tell me where you take up your beg- 
ging-stand ; in what synagogue am I to look for you? " It is 
all the same whether you try to say anything, or draw back in 
silence ; they beat you just the same ; then, as if in passion, 
they try to make you give bail. This is the liberty of a poor 
man ; after being beaten he prays, and after being thrashed 
with fisty-cuffs, he entreats to be allowed to retire from the 
scene with a few teeth left him. Nor yet are such things all 
you have to fear ; for there will not be wanting one who will 
plunder you after the houses are closed, and in all directions the 
fastenings of the chained-up shops are fixed and at rest. . . . 

To these reasons (for disliking city life) I could add many 
others ; but my steeds summon me, and the sun is decHning ; 
I must be off (for the country). 



Studies 285 



STUDIES 

1. Give an account of the life and occupation of Claudius before 
his accession. 

2. Why should he be called " a learned fool " ? How does his cen- 
sorship show that his mind was somewhat unbalanced ? 

3. What proves his breadth of view in contrast with the narrowness 
of the senators ? What had he learned from the study of history ? 

4. Describe his personal appearance and manners. 

5. Give an account of the accession of Nero. Who were his 
advisers ? 

6. What promises did he make in his inaugural speech to the 
senate ? Who was probably the author of this address ? 

7. Describe his accompHshments in music ; his Golden House. 

8. When a master was assassinated, what was done with the slaves ? 
Why did the populace try to prevent the enforcement of this law ? 
Who showed themselves the more humane, the senators or the com- 
mon people ? 

9. Describe the great fire at Rome. Was Nero probably respon- 
sible for it ? What did he do to relieve the distress and repair the 
damage ? Compare new Rome with the old. 

10. Why did Nero persecute the Christians ? 

11. Give an account of the reign of Vespasian. Was he really 
avaricious (cf. Rome, p. 235) ? What public buildings did he erect ? 

12. How did he improve the morals of society ? 

13. Give an account of the siege of Jerusalem. 

14. Describe the character of Titus. How did he resemble his 
father ? 

15. Summarize Pliny's story of the eruption of Vesuvius. What 
may we infer from this story as to Pliny's character ? 

16. Compare the character of Domitian (i) with that of Titus and 
Vespasian, (2) with that of Tiberius. What were the good features of 
his character ? 

17. Give an account of Agricola in Britain. Why did he retire into 
private life ? 

18. What were the comparative advantages and disadvantages of 
city and country life at this time, as illustrated by the passage from 
Juvenal ? What may we learn from this extract regarding the manners 
and habits of the Romans ? 



CHAPTER XI 



Kerva 

emperor, 96- 
98 A.D. 

Aurelius Vic- 
tor, Roman 
Emperors, 
II. 

(His ances- 
tors had 
come from 
Crete to 
Narnia, Um- 
bria.) 

lb. 12, 



The emper- 
or's burden. 

(Grandfather 
of the em- 
peror Anto- 
ninus.) 



The Five Good Emperors 

(96-180 A.D.) 
NERVA 

Thus far the rulers of the empire were Romans or Ital- 
ians ; thereafter some of them were ahens. This fact proves 
that Rome grew great through the merits of foreigners ; for 
who could have been wiser or more moderate than Nerva? 
who more divine than Trajan? who more excellent than 
Hadrian ? 

Cocceius Nerva was born in the town of Narnia, and 
reigned a year, four months, and ten days. Soon after he 
had accepted the imperial office, a rumor spread that Domi- 
tian was still alive and would shortly make his appearance. 
The report so terrified Nerva that he turned pale and 
speechless, and could scarcely stand erect. Reassured by 
Parthenius, however, he recovered courage, and directed his 
thoughts to the pleasant festivity of the inauguration. 

The senators received him with congratulations; but one 
of them, Arrius Antoninus, an energetic man and an intimate 
friend of Nerva, made some true remarks on the unenviable 
lot of rulers ; and after embracing the new emperor, he said : 
" I congratulate the senate, the people, and the provinces, 
but not Nerva, who in fact has been more fortunate in 
always escaping the wrath of bad princes than in having now 
to endure so heavy a burden ; for he must expose himself, 
not only to anxieties and dangers but to all the idle talk of 

2S6 



The Mildest Emperor 287 

friends and foes alike. And it often happens that when 
friends think they deserve everything, but are unable to 
obtain the favor they seek, they become more implacable 
than declared enemies." 

Nerva remitted all the tribute which had been imposed Nerva's 
for punishment and was still due ; he came to the relief of benevolence. 
cities in distress ; and he enacted that the children, — both 
boys and girls, — of poor parents should be supported in the 
towns of Italy at public expense. 

Junius Mauricus, a trustworthy friend, (ironically) advised Too mild 
him one day not to be afraid to give free access to the evil- ^rone-doers, 
minded. Invited by the emperor to a private dinner, Mau- 
ricus saw reclining at the table a certain Veiento, who had 
held the office of consul under Domitian, and yet had 
brought anonymous accusations against many persons. In 
the course of conversation mention happened to be made of 
Catullus, a notorious informer ; and when Nerva asked what 
Catullus would now be doing, had he survived Domitian, 
Mauricus replied, " He would be dining with us." 

Nerva was learned in the science of law, and constantly 
attended the courts. When Calpurnius Crassus was found 
guilty of having tried with boundless promises to corrupt the 
loyalty of the soldiers, and had confessed the wrong, Nerva 
merely banished him and his wife to Tarentum, in spite of 
the reproaches which the senators heaped upon his mild- 
ness. 

When asked to give up the murderers of Domitian The murder- 
to be put to death, he was so terrified that he lost control 11^^°^ ^°™^" 
of himself Nevertheless he resisted the demand with all his 
might, saying over and over that he would rather die than 
stain the imperial authority with such a crime, or betray 
those who had raised him to his present office. The soldiers 
paid no attention to the prince, however, and when they had 
got the murderers in their power, they killed Petronius with 
one blow, and strangled Parthenius after mutilating him. 
Casperius (the pretorian prefect involved in the conspiracy 



288 



The Five Good Emperors 



The 

adoption of 
Trajan. 



Trajan em- 
peror, 98-117 

A.D. 

Aurelius Vic- 
tor, Roman 
Emperors, 
13- 

(Tuderfinum 
is unknown. 
In fact Tra- 
jan was born 
in Italica, 
Spain, the 
home of 
Hadrian.) 



His most 
striking 
merits. 



against Domitian) bought his life by the payment of a large 
sum of money. Made more insolent by his success in the 
terrible crime, he compelled Nerva in an assembly of the 
people to thank the soldiers for having put to death " the 
two most infamous and most guilty wretches in the empire." 
The emperor then adopted Trajan as his son, and asso- 
ciated him in the government. With him Nerva reigned 
no more than three months. One day he angrily cried out 
in a loud voice against a certain Regulus, calling him by 
name, when suddenly he was seized with a profuse sweating ; 
and as this symptom passed away he shivered with cold. 
A fever set in, from which he soon died, in the sixty-third 
year of his age. At his funeral his body was borne by sena- 
tors, as that of Augustus had been, and he was buried in the 
tomb of Augustus. On the day of his death there was an 
eclipse of the sun. 

Trajan 

Ulpius Trajan of the city of Tudertinum was named 
Ulpius after his grandfather, and Trajan after Trajus, the 
founder of his father's family, or (more directly) after his 
father Trajan. In his reign of twenty years he showed 
himself so great a public character that the wonderful genius 
of the most eminent writers has scarcely been equal to the 
task of fitly setting forth his merits. Receiving the imperial 
office at Agrippina (now Cologne), a famous colony of Gaul, 
he proved himself an able commander and a mild ruler — 
always ready to relieve generously the wants of the com- 
munities of the empire. Whereas we look for two qualities 
in the model prince, — integrity in peace, bravery in war, 
and prudence everywhere, — Trajan had all excellent quali- 
ties in so large a measure that his character seems to have 
been a perfect combination of virtues, excepting that he 
was somewhat too fond of the banquet and wine. 

Liberal to his friends, he enjoyed their company just as 
though he were on their social level. In memory of Sura, 



Justice and Benevolence 



289 



whose energy had given him the empire, he erected pubhc 
baths. It seems superfluous to mention each one of his 
merits in detail, since it is enough to have said that he 
developed and perfected every good quality. For he was 
a tireless worker and a zealous protector of good citizens 
and of the soldiers. Especially he loved genius in all its 
simplicity, and was a friend of learning in every department, 
though he had httle scientific training and but moderate 
ability as a speaker. 

In the administration of justice and in religious and civil 
law, he was a prolific author of new regulations as well as 
a faithful guardian of ancient institutions. All these char- 
acteristics seem the greater from the fact that after the 
empire had been overturned and trodden under by many 
cruel tyrants, people believed that heaven sent them Trajan 
at the right moment for remedying this evil condition. 
Many wonders accordingly foretold his accession. For in- 
stance, a crow on the roof of the CapitoHne temple cried 
out in Attic Greek, " It will be well (kuXux; eorai) ! " . . . 

In his reign the Tiber, overflowing its banks with far 
greater injury than had been the case under Nerva, destroyed 
many houses along the shores ; and there were terrible earth- 
quakes in many provinces, a fearful plague and a famine. 
All these misfortunes Trajan promptly reheved ; and he 
passed a law which limited the height of houses to sixty 
feet, that they might be in less danger of falling, and that 
in case they should fall, they might be repaired at less ex- 
pense. For all these benefits he received the name Father 
of his Country. 

Greater than his military glory was his ability and judg- 
ment as a ruler, for he conducted himself as an equal toward 
all, often visiting his friends, either when they were ill or 
when they were celebrating festivals, entertaining them in his 
turn at banquets, where there was no distinction of rank, 
and riding frequently with them in their chariots, in no 
way unjust toward any of the senators, or guilty of any 



Justice and 
law. 



Misfortunes. 



Summary of 
his charac- 
ter as a 
ruler. 

Eutiopius 
viii. 4. 



290 The Five Good Emperors 



Eutropius 
viii. 5. 



His achieve- 
ments in 
war. 

Eutropius 
vii. 2. 



lb. viii. 3. 



dishonesty to fill his treasury, exercising liberality to all, 
enriching with offices of trust, publicly and privately, every 
one whom he had even slightly known, building towns 
throughout the world, granting many immunities to states, 
and doing everything with gentleness and kindness ; so that 
during his whole reign there was but one senator condemned, 
and he was sentenced by the senate without Trajan's knowl- 
edge. Regarded therefore throughout the world as next 
to a god, he deservedly obtained the highest veneration 
both in his lifetime and after death. 

Among his sayings the following remarkable one is men- 
tioned. When his friends found fault with him for being 
too courteous to everybody, he replied : " I am such an 
emperor to my subjects as I have wished, when a subject, 
that emperors should be to me." 

He exercised the government in such a manner that he 
is deservedly preferred to all the other emperors. He was 
a man of extraordinary skill in managing affairs of state, and 
of remarkable courage. The limits of the Roman empire, 
which since the reign of Augustus had been defended rather 
than honorably enlarged, he extended far and wide. He 
rebuilt some cities in Germany ; by the overthrow of De- 
cebalus he subdued Dacia, and formed a province beyond 
the Danube. . . . This province was a thousand miles in 
circumference. 

He recovered Armenia, which the Parthians had seized, 
and put to death Parthamasires, who held the government 
of that country. He gave a king to the Albanians. He 
received into alliance the kings of the Iberians, Sarmatians, 
Bosporanians, Arabs, Osdroenians, and Colchians. He 
gained the mastery over the Corduenians and the Marcome- 
dians, as well as over Anthemusia, an extensive region of 
Persia. He conquered and kept possession of Seleucia, 
Ctesiphon, Babylon, and the country of the Messenians. 
He advanced as far as the boundaries of India and the Red 
Sea, where he formed three provinces, — Armenia, Assyria, 



Death 



291 



Eutropius 
viii. 5. 



and Mesopotamia, including the tribes which border on Ma- 
dena (Media). Afterward he reduced Arabia to the form 
of a province, and fitted out a fleet for the Red Sea, to use 
in laying waste the coasts of India. 

After gaining the greatest glory both in the field and at His death 
home, he was cut off by sickness at Seleucia in Isauria, as he 
was returning from Persia. He died in the sixty-third year, 
ninth month, and fourth day of his age, and in the nineteenth 
year, ninth month, and fifteenth day of his reign. Not only 
was he enrolled among the gods, but he alone of all the em- 
perors received burial within the city. His bones, contained 
in a golden urn, lie in the Forum which he himself built, 
under a column whose height is a hundred and forty-four 
feet. So much respect has been paid to his memory that 
even in our own times they shout in acclamation of the 
emperors, " More fortunate than Augustus, better than Tra- 
jan ! " So much has the fame of his goodness prevailed 
that it affords ground for most noble illustration in the 
hands either of those who flatter or of those who sincerely 
praise. 

Trajan's Correspondence with Pliny, Governor of 

BiTHYNIA 



To THE Emperor Tr.\jan : 

I am at present engaged in examining the finances of the 
Prusenses, their disbursements and credits ; and the farther 
I proceed in this affair, the more I am convinced of the 
necessity of my inquiry. Several considerable sums of money 
are owing to the city from private persons, who on various 
pretences neglect to pay the debts. On the other hand, I 
find the public funds are in some instances unwarrantably 
appHed. 

This, Sir, I write to you immediately on my arrival. I en- 
tered this province on the seventeenth of September, and 
found it in those sentiments of obedience and loyalty which 
you justly merit from all mankind. You will consider, Sir, 



The finances 
of a muni- 
cipium. 

Pliny, Let- 
ters, 16 (or 
28). 



" Send a 
surveyor. 



292 The Five Good Emperors 

whether it would not be proper to send hither a surveyor ; 
for I am indined to think much might be deducted from 
what is charged by those who have the conduct of pubhc 
works, if an accurate measurement were to be taken. 



Letters, 17 
(or 29) . 



Trajan to Pliny : 

The people of that province will be convinced, I persuade 
myself, that I am attentive to their interests ; as your con- 
duct toward them will make it clear that I could have 
chosen no person better fitted to supply my place. ... I 
have scarcely surveyors enough to inspect those works which 
I am carrying on in Rome and the neighborhood; but per- 
sons of integrity and skill in this art may be found most cer- 
tainly in every province, if you will make due inquiry. 



A fire in the 
capital. 

Pliny, Let- 
ters, 42. 



"May we 
have a fire- 
company? " 



To THE Emperor Trajan : 

While I was making a journey in a different part of the 
province, a most destructive fire broke out at Nicomedia, 
which consumed not only several private houses, but also 
two public buildings, — the town house and the temple of 
Isis, though they stood on opposite sides of the street. The 
cause of its spreading thus wide was partly the violence of 
the wind, and partly the indolence of the people, who, it 
appears, stood fixed and idle spectators of this terrible 
calamity. The truth is that the city was not furnished with 
engines, buckets, or any single instrument for extinguishing 
fires. I have now, however, given directions to provide this 
apparatus. 

You will consider, Sir, whether it may not be advisable to 
form a company of firemen, consisting of only a hundred 
and fifty members. I will take care that none but those of 
that occupation shall be admitted into it ; and that the privi- 
leges granted them shall not be extended to any other pur- 
pose. As this corporate body will be restricted to so small 
a number of members, it will be easy to keep them under 
proper regulations. 



Corporations 



293 



Trajan to Pliny : 

You are of the opinion that it would be proper to estab- 
lish a company of firemen in Nicomedia, agreeably to what 
has been practised in other cities. But remember that socie- 
ties of this sort have greatly disturbed the peace of the prov- 
inces in general, and particularly of those cities in which 
they exist. Whatever name we give them, and for whatever 
purpose they may be instituted, they will not fail to form 
themselves into factious assembhes, however short their meet- 
ings may be. It will therefore be safer to provide such ma- 
chines as are of service in extinguishing fires, to enjoin the 
owners of houses to assist in preventing the mischief from 
spreading, and if it should be necessary, to call in the aid 
of the populace. 



" Corpora- 
tions are 
dangerous." 

Letters, 43. 



(Private 
assemblies 
were forbid- 
den by a law 
of the Twelve 
Tables ; 
P- 93-) 



To THE Emperor Trajan : 

The debts which were owing to the public are by the pru- 
dence. Sir, of your counsels, and by the care of my adminis- 
tration, either actually paid, or are now recovering ; but I 
fear the money must be unemployed. For on the one hand, 
there are few or no opportunities of purchasing land, and on 
the other, one cannot meet with any person who is willing 
to borrow of the public, — especially at the rate of twelve 
percent, — when it is possible to raise money on the same 
terms from private lenders. You will therefore consider. Sir, 
whether it may not be advisable, in order to invite respon- 
sible persons to take this money, to lower the interest; or 
if that scheme should not succeed, to place it in the hands 
of the members of the city councils, upon their giving suffi- 
cient security to the public. And though they should not 
be willing to receive it, yet as the rate of interest will be 
abated, the hardship will be so much the less. 



" Shall we 
compel the 
councillors 
to borrow 
from the 
public? " 

Pliny, Let- 
ters, 62. 



Trajan to Puny : 

I agree A'ith you, my dear Pliny, that there seems to be 
no other riethod of facilitating the placing out of the public 



" Oppress no 
one in this 
way." 



294 The Five Good Emperors 

Letters, 63. money, than by lowering the interest ; the rate you will de- 
termine according to the number of borrowers. But to com- 
pel persons to receive it, who are not so disposed, when 
possibly they themselves may have no opportunity of em- 
ploying it, is by no means consistent with the justice of 
my government. 



The Chris- 
tians. 

Pliny, Let- 
ters, 97. 



(Cf. note on 
Letter 43.) 



To THE Emperor Trajan : 

It is a rule, Sir, which I inviolably observe, to refer to you 
in all my doubts ; for who is more able to remove my 
scruples or to inform my ignorance? As I have never 
before been present at any trials of persons called Christians, 
I am unacquainted, not only with the nature of their crimes 
and the degree of their punishment, but how far it is proper 
to enter into an examination of them. . . . 

Meanwhile the method I have followed toward those who 
have been brought before me as Christians is this : I asked them 
whether they were Christians; if they confessed, I repeated 
the question twice, adding threats ; and if they still perse- 
vered, I ordered them to be immediately punished. For 
I was persuaded, whatever the nature of their opinions 
might be, a contumacious and inflexible obstinacy deserved 
correction. , . . 

They affirm the whole of their guilt, or their error, was 
that they met on a certain stated day before it was light, and 
addressed themselves in a form of prayer to Christ, as to 
some god, binding themselves by a solemn oath, not for the 
purpose of any wicked deed, but never to commit any 
fraud, theft, or adultery ; never to falsify their word, nor deny 
a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up ; 
afterward, they said, it was their custom to separate, and 
then reassemble, to eat in common a harmless meal. . . . 

I deemed it expedient, therefore, to adjourn all further 
proceedings, in order to consult you. For it appears to be 
a matter highly deserving your consideration ; more espe- 
cially as great numbers must be involved in the danger of 



The Christians 



295 



these prosecutions, which have already extended, and are 
still likely to extend, to persons of all ranks and ages and 
even to both sexes. 

Trajan to Pliny : 

The method you have pursued, my dear Pliny, in the "Be just, 
proceedings against those Christians who were brought meddle." 
before you is extremely proper, as it is not possible to lay utters, 98. 
down any fixed rule by which to act in all cases of this 
nature. But I would not have you enter officiously into any 
inquiries concerning them. If they should be brought before 
you, however, and the charge should be proved, they must 
be punished, — yet with this restriction that in case a person 
denies he is a Christian, and shall make it evident that he 
is not, by invoking our gods, let him be pardoned upon 
repentance. 

Informations without the accuser's name subscribed ought 
not to be received in prosecutions of any kind ; as it is intro- 
ducing a very dangerous precedent, by no means agreeable 
to the equity of my government. 

Hadrian 



The family of the emperor Hadrian belonged originally to 
Picenum, but afterward made its home in Spain ; for Ha- 
drian in his autobiography informs us that his ancestors 
once lived in Hadria, but in the age of the Scipios settled 
in Italica. His father was ^lius Hadrianus. . . . Left an 
orphan in his tenth year, he received as guardians his kins- 
man Trajan, then praetor and afterward emperor, and Cae- 
lius Attianus, a Roman knight. He devoted himself eagerly 
to Greek literature, for which he had so natural an aptitude 
that people called him the Greekling. 

Returning to his native land (Spain) in his fifteenth year, 
he entered military service, but showed himself culpably 
fond of hunting. Trajan summoned him from Spain, and 



.ffilius Ha- 
drianus em- 
peror, 117- 

138 A.D. 

Spartianus, 
Hadrian, i. 



His acces- 
sion. 



296 The Five Good Emperors 



Spartianus, 
Hadrian, 2. 



Military dis- 
cipline. 

Spartianus, 
Hadrian, 10. 



He banishes 
luxuries. 



loved him as his own son. (With the help of Plotina he 
became emperor after Trajan. Many years of his reign he 
devoted to travel through the provinces.) 

Arriving in Gaul, he liberally relieved the needy, and then 
passed on to Germany. Though more desirous of peace 
than of war, he exercised his soldiers as if war threatened; 
he hardened them to fatigue, set them, in his own person, 
an example of military virtue, and readily ate the food of 
the camp — bacon, cheese, and vinegar mixed with water ; 
in these respects he imitated Scipio ^Emilianus, Metellus, 
and Trajan, the author of his fortune. To make his men 
willing to endure hardships, he rewarded many with money, 
some with offices. The military discipline, which after 
Caesar Octavianus had declined through the neglect of the 
emperors, Hadrian restored. This he did partly by regulat- 
ing the offices and the expenses, and partly by suffering no 
soldier, without due cause, to be absent from the camp. 
Another means to this end was the appointment of tribunes, 
not for their popularity with the troops, but because of each 
one's sense of justice. By his own example, too, he encour- 
aged the rest to strict discipline, for he was accustomed to 
walk clad in armor twenty miles a day along with his infantry. 

Dining-rooms, porticos, grottoes, and pleasure-gardens 
he banished from the camp. He himself generally wore a 
simple cloak with a plain belt fastened by a buckle without 
jewels ; and by his side hung a sword with no more orna- 
ment than an ivory handle. His sick troops he visited in 
their quarters ; and he himself always selected the place for 
encampment. The office of centurion he conferred on none 
but those of robust health and good character ; no one 
could be a tribune unless he had a full beard and was old 
enough to fill his office with prudence and force. A tribune 
was not permitted to accept the smallest gift from his soldiers. 

Delicacies of every kind he removed absolutely from the 
army ; and not only did he improve the arms and the fur- 
nishings of the soldiers, but regulated their ages, so as to 



An Inquisitive Emperor 297 

enlist none too young for effective service and to retain no 
one longer than the humane law of earlier times prescribed. 
It was his especial care to know the soldiers individually and 
to keep informed as to their numbers. 

Furthermore he tried to acquaint himself with the military His knowl- 
supplies of the empire, and he examined minutely the reve- ^i^? *** 
nues from the provinces in order to relieve all needs ; and g ^^.^-^ 
no emperor was ever so careful to avoid buying and keeping Hadrian, I'l. 
useless material. 

When Hadrian had reformed the soldiers of Germany 
after the pattern of their emperor, he crossed into Britain. 
In addition to other improvements there, he was the first Rome,'^.'2.$x\ 
to build a wall — eighty miles in length — to separate the ^',"f^"^ 
barbarians from the Romans. . . . 404. 

Curious to learn the trifling details not only of his own His prying 
household but of his friends' families as well, he employed disposition, 
detectives to pry into all their secrets. Often his friends 
failed to discover that their private affairs were known to the 
emperor till he gave them the information. It may be of 
interest here to tell a story which shows how well acquainted 
Hadrian was with the affairs of his friends. One of them 
received a letter from his wife reproaching him for staying 
away from home to give himself up to the baths and other 
pleasures. Immediately a detective informed Hadrian of 
the contents of this letter. When accordingly the man 
came to ask a passport, the emperor rebuked him for his 
devotion to baths and luxurious living. " What ! " the man 
exclaimed, "has my wife been writing this to you, too?" 
People blamed Hadrian for his prying disposition, as they 
considered it a grave fault. 

After the emperor had regulated the affairs of Britain, he In Gaul and 
returned to Gaul, where he received the unpleasant news P^^°' 
of an insurrection in Alexandria over an Apis. As an animal )^ad/7a>!^^i2. 
of this kind was discovered after a long interval, the various ji„c!ent His- 
tribes of Egypt were violently contending for the honor of tory, p. 13. 
giving the sacred beast a dwelling-place. 



298 The Five Good Emperors 



In Greece 
and Asia 
Minor. 

Spartianus, 
Hadrian, 13. 

(For the 
Eleusinian 
mysteries, 
see Greece, 
P- 97-) 



Rome, p. 205. 



His laws. 

Spartianus, 
Hadrian, 18. 



About the same time Hadrian erected at Nimes a magnifi- 
cent basilica in memory of Plotina. Then he went to Spain 
to winter in Terragona (Lat. Tarraco), where he repaired at 
his own expense a temple to Augustus, and held a general 
assembly of the Spanish provincials. 

(Afterward he visited Greece,) where hke Hercules and 
King Philip he had himself initiated into the Eleusinian 
mysteries. He not only conferred many benefits on the 
Athenians, but sat as judge in their public games. Then 
he sailed for Sicily. After his arrival there, he chmbed 
Mount ^tna to view a sunrise, which from that spot was 
beautified with the varied colors of the rainbow. Thence 
he returned to Rome ; but setting out immediately for the 
Orient, he travelled through Athens, where he dedicated the 
works he had begun, including a temple to the Olympian 
Jupiter (Zeus) and an altar to himself. 

In the same way, as he journeyed through Asia, he con- 
secrated temples in his own name. In Cappadocia he en- 
gaged many slaves for labor in the mihtary camps. (Wherever 
he went, he busied himself with winning the friendship and 
aUiance of foreign kings.) ... In his circuit of the prov- 
inces he punished procurators and governors with such sever- 
ity that people beUeved he had himself incited persons to 
accuse them. 

In judicial affairs he made up his council, not of friends 
and companions but of learned jurists, — Julius Celsus, Sal- 
vius Julianus, Neratius Prisons, and others, — only those, 
however, whom the senate had approved. 

Among his enactments the following are most note- 
worthy : 

In no city shall buildings be destroyed for the use of the 
material in some other city. 

To children of condemned persons a twelfth part of their 
father's property shall be allowed. 

Charges of treason shall not be admitted. 

Bequests to the emperor from unknown persons shall be 



Laws and Public Works 299 

rejected, and none shall be received from known persons if 
they have children. 

As to hidden treasures, if one shall find such a treasure on 
his own estate, he shall possess the treasure ; if on another's, 
he shall give half to the owner of the estate ; if on public 
ground, he shall divide equally with the imperial treasury. 

Slaves shall not be killed by their masters. Those who 
deserve death shall be condemned by judges only. 

The sale of men and women slaves as gladiators or for 
vile purposes is forbidden, provided no sufficient reason for 
such sale exists. 

There shall be no houses of correction {ergastula) for 
slaves or freedmen. 

In case a master is assassinated in his own house, not all 
his slaves shall be examined, but those only who are near 
enough to the master to know something of the deed. 

In Etruria the emperor held the prastorship ; in the Latin Local offices 
cities the offices of dictator, sedile, and duumvir ; in Naples ^^^ games, 
he was demarch ; in the city of his birth and in Hadria, ^Hadrtan\a. 
almost a native city, he was a five-year magistrate ; in 
Athens, an archon. In nearly every city of the realm he 
erected some building or exhibited games. In the stadium 
of Athens he gave a hunt of a thousand wild animals ; but 
he would never take an actor or a fighter of beasts from 
Rome to use in the provinces. ... In the Circus he allowed 
many animals to be killed — often a hundred lions at a 
time. To please the people he often exhibited Pyrrhic 
dances, and he was himself often present at gladiatorial shows. 

Though everywhere he erected countless buildings, he in- 
scribed his name on none of them excepting the temple to 
his father Trajan. At Rome he restored the Pantheon (of 
Agrippa) , the Ssepta, the Basilica of Neptune, very many P. 254. 
sacred buildings, the Forum of Augustus, and the Baths of 
Agrippa. All these works he dedicated with the names of 
their founders. Under his own name he built a bridge 
across the Tiber, and near it a mausoleum. 



300 The Five Good Emperors 



Freedmen 
and slaves. 

Sparfianus, 
Hadrian, 21. 



Misfortunes. 



Popularity 
with the sol- 
diers and 
with for- 
eigners. 



Civil disci- 
pline. 

Spartianus, 
Hadrian, 22. 



Concerning the conduct of (suspected) judges, he pur- 
sued a careful inquiry till he learned the truth. His freed- 
men he would not recognize in public, nor allow them to 
have any influence over him, imputing to all earher emperors 
the vices of their freedmen and punishing those of his own 
who boasted of having influenced him. This attitude ex- 
plains his severe yet almost playful treatment of slaves. 
Once when he saw at a distance one of his slaves walking 
between two senators, he sent some one to give him a box 
on the ear and to say to him, " Do not walk with any per- 
son whose slave you may yet become." . . . 

His reign was afflicted by famine, pestilence, and earth- 
quakes ; all these evils he provided against as well as he 
could, and he came to the relief of cities distressed by such 
misfortunes. The Tiber, too, overflowed its banks. 

To many cities he granted the Latin rights ; for many he 
remitted the tribute. No severe campaigns were necessary 
under him, and wars were brought quietly to an end. Be- 
cause of his remarkable care for his soldiers as well as his 
generosity to them, he was very popular with the army. He 
always retained the friendship of the Parthians, because he 
withdrew the king whom Trajan had imposed upon them. 
Furthermore the Armenians, who under Trajan had been 
ruled by a Roman governor, were now permitted to have a 
king. He released the Mesopotamians from the tribute im- 
posed by Trajan. The Albanians and the Iberians were 
especially friendly because he had given rich presents to 
their kings, in spite of the fact that the latter had refused to 
come to him. 

Very often he appointed guardians. Enforcing discipline 
among the citizens as rigorously as in the army, he ordered 
the Roman senators and knights always to wear the toga in 
public, except when they were returning home from dining 
out. In Italy he never appeared in public without wearing 
the toga. When senators came to dine with him, he received 
them standing, and recHned at table in a mantle (^pallium) 



Various Activities 



301 



activities. 



or a loosened toga. He regulated the expense of banquets 
with the care of a judge, and brought them back to the an- 
cient standard. Heavily loaded wagons were not to be 
driven in Rome, and horseback-riding in cities was forbid- 
den. No one but a sick person was allowed to bathe before 
the eighth hour. 

He was the first emperor to appoint knights as secretaries Various 
of his correspondence and edicts. The poor and upright 
he of his own accord enriched, but he hated those who 
enriched themselves through crafty dealing. To Roman 
religious ceremonies he paid the most careful attention, 
whereas foreign religions he despised. He performed the 
duties of the chief pontiff. Often at Rome and in the prov- 
inces he heard lawsuits, with a council composed of consuls, 
praetors, and best senators. . . . Jurisdiction in Italy he as- 
signed to four judges of consular rank. On his arrival in 
Africa a rain poured down after a five-years' drought, and 
this event made the Africans love him. 

After wandering bareheaded over every part of the world, 
often exposing himself to heavy rain and extreme cold, he 
fell into a mortal sickness. In his anxiety about a successor, 
he first thought of Servianus, whom he afterward drove to 
suicide. . . . Finally against the will of all, he adopted 
Ceionius Commodus Verus as his son, and named him ^lius 
Verus Caesar. 

On the occasion of this ceremony he celebrated games 
in the Circus and gave a present to the people and the 
soldiers. The young Caesar he honored with the praetorship, 
then with the governorship of Pannonia, together with the 
consulship. Hadrian himself paid the expenses of the last- 
named office, and immediately nominated him consul for 
a second term. But afterward when he noticed the feeble 
health of Commodus, he would often remark, " We have 
leaned on a falling wall, and have squandered four hundred 
million sesterces on his adoption." On account of illness, 
Commodus was unable to thank Hadrian in the senate for 



His last ill- 
ness. 



Spartianus, 
Hadrian, 23. 



302 The 'Five Good Emperors 



His death at 
Baiae. 

Spartianus, 
Hadrian, 24. 



lb. 25. 



his adoption. At last after taking too large a dose of medi- 
cine, the heir grew worse, and died in sleep on the first day 
of January. 

As Hadrian's sickness increased, he adopted Arrius An- 
toninus — afterward called Pius — on condition that this heir 
should adopt two sons, Annius Verus and Marcus Antoninus. 
These two were the first to rule the empire as joint Augusti. 

Then Hadrian went to Baise, while Antoninus remained 
at Rome to administer the government. But as the em- 
peror made no improvement, he summoned Antoninus, who 
came and was by his bedside when he died, — on the tenth 
of July, ... In his last moments Hadrian is said to have 
composed these verses : 



Soul of mine, pretty one, flitting one, 
Guest and partner of my clay, 
Whither wilt thou hie away, 
Pallid one, rigid one, naked one — 
Never to play again, never to play ? 

— Translation from Merivale's Hisiory of the Romans. 



Personal 
appearance. 

Spartianus, 
Hadrian, 26. 



Of the same sort, and not much better, were his Greek 
verses. 

Hadrian was tall, well-built, and of robust constitution. He 
curled his hair with a comb, and wore his beard long to 
cover the natural defects of his face. It was his habit to 
ride on horseback or to walk, and he constantly exercised 
himself in arms and in throwing the javelin. While hunting 
he often killed a lion with his own hand ; but once he broke 
his collar-bone and a rib. The game he always shared 
with his friends. At his dinners his guests were entertained 
by tragedies, comedies, and farces, as well as by harp music, 
reading, and poetry. His villa at Tibur he built with such 
wonderful art that one could find in it representations of 
celebrated places, as the Lyceum, the Academy, the Pryta- 
neum, Canopus, Tempe, — and that nothing might be want- 
ing, an imitation of the realm of death. 



A Prosperous Reign 



303 



Antoninus Pius 



The parents of Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Antoninus 
Pius were from Nimes, Transalpine Gaul. His grandfather, 
Titus Aurelius, after filling various offices, was elected to a 
second consulship and to the prefecture of the city. His 
father Aurelius Fulvus, an upright, austere man, was also 
consul. 

Antoninus was as eminent for good character as for beauty ; 
he was gentle and noble, with serene face and kind disposi- 
tion. Though he excelled in eloquence and in literary 
knowledge, he devoted himself soberly and earnestly to 
rural economy. He was mild, generous, and unselfish, in 
everything modest and unassuming, — an excellent man, 
and in the opinion of good people, worthy of comparison 
with Numa Pompilius. He received from the senate the 
surname Pius, possibly because in the senate-house he was 
seen supporting on his arm his father-in-law, then feeble 
with age ... or because after the death of his adoptive 
father Hadrian, he conferred a great number of extraordi- 
nary honors on him against the wishes of all, or because his 
great care and watchfulness had prevented Hadrian from 
committing suicide, or because he was extremely merciful 
throughout his reign and permitted nothing harsh. 

He lent money at four per cent, the lowest rate of interest, 
but even with this profit he was able to help many people 
from his income. As quaestor he was liberal, as prsetor 
magnificent. He was consul with Catilius Severus. Most 
of his private life he passed on his country estates, but was 
well known everywhere. Consulting at once his honor and 
his desire for quiet life, Hadrian made him one of the four 
consular judges of Italy and assigned him to the district in 
which lay most of his landed property. 

As long as his adoptive father lived, Antoninus paid him 
the most respectful obedience. When the father died at 



Antoninus 
Pius em- 
peror, 138- 
161 A.D. 

Capitolinus, 
Antoninus 
Pius, I. 



lb. 2. 



His liber- 
ality. 



His respect 
for Hadrian. 



304 The Five Good Emperors 



Capitolinus, 
Antoninus 
Pius, 5. 



His justice 
and tact. 

Capitolinus, 
Antoninus 
Pius, 6. 



Relations 
with the 
senate. 



His public 
benefits. 

Capitolinus, 
Antoninus 
Pius, 8. 



(The Grasco- 
stadium is 
probably 
identical 
with the 
Grasco- 
stasis, a plat- 



Baise, the son brought his ashes piously and reverently to 
Rome, where he deposited them in the gardens of Domitia ; 
and in spite of strong opposition he had his father decreed a 
god. He permitted the senate to confer the name Augusta 
on his wife and Pius on himself, and gladly accepted the 
statues decreed to his own father, mother, grandparents, and 
brothers, who were now all dead. 

He commanded the procurators to act mildly in collecting 
the tribute, and those who disobeyed he called to account. 
To him there was no satisfaction in gains made at the 
expense of the provincials ; for this reason he readily hstened 
to complaints against procurators. In asking pardon of the 
senate for those whom Hadrian had condemned, he tact- 
fully remarked, " My father intended to make this request." 
The imperial majesty he elevated by his pohteness to every 
one ; but this kindness of heart vexed the courtiers, for as 
the emperor conducted no business through agents, they 
were unable to frighten people and had no secrets to sell. 

To the senate the emperor paid the respect which, when 
in private life, he had desired to receive from the prince ; 
and when this body offered him the title of Father of his 
Country, at first he refused but afterward accepted the honor 
with sincere thanks. In the third year of his reign he lost 
his wife Faustina, whom the senate thereupon honored with 
games in the Circus, with a temple and priestesses, with 
golden and silver statues. 

The emperor made a gift of corn to the people and of 
money to the soldiers. In memory of his wife Faustina he 
instituted a fund for the education of girls, who accordingly 
were called Faustinianse. The following are the public 
works which he built : at Rome a temple to Hadrian, 
devoted to the worship of his adoptive father ; the Grae- 
costadium restored after having been burned ; the amphi- 
theatre renovated ; the tomb of Hadrian, the temple of 
Agrippa, the Sublician Bridge, the Pharos restored ; the 
harbor of Caieta, the harbor of Tarracina improved; the 



Administration 



305 



Ostian Baths, an aqueduct at Antium, and the Lanuvian 
temples. Many cities, too, he aided with money in build- 
ing new works or in repairing the old, and he helped magis- 
trates and Roman senators defray the expenses of their 
offices. Legacies from persons with children he would not 
accept ; and he was the first to enact that no penalty 
should annul a testament. 

As long as an upright judge lived, Antoninus kept him in 
office, with the exception of Orphytus, the city prefect, who 
was retired at his own request. As a result of this wise rule 
Gavius Maximus, the pretorian prefect, a very strict man, 
held his office twenty years under this emperor. Gavius 
was succeeded by Tatius Maximus, at whose death Anto- 
ninus appointed two prefects, — Fabius Repetinus and Cor- 
nelius Victorinus. ... So far was the emperor from 
putting any senator to death that one of them, a con- 
fessed murderer of a parent, was merely exposed on a desert 
island, for the laws of nature did not permit such a man to 
live. 

When there was a lack of wine, oil, and wheat, he 
relieved the want by buying up provisions with his own funds 
and distributing them free among the people. 

The senate decreed to name the months of September 
and October Antoninus and Faustinus, but the emperor 
refused the honor. The marriage of his daughter Faustina 
with Marcus Aurelius he celebrated with great magnificence 
and with gifts of money to the soldiers. After his other son, 
Verus Antoninus, had filled the office of quaestor, the 
emperor made him consul. 

The father engaged Apollonius to come to Rome from 
Chalcis to take charge of the education of Marcus; but 
when he invited this man to the palace of Tiberius, — at 
that time the imperial residence. — Apollonius refused to 
come, saying in explanation, " The master ought not to go 
to the pupil, but the pupil should come to the master." 
With a smile Antoninus remarked, " It is easier for Apollo- 

X 



form in the 
Forum, from 
which 

foreign am- 
bassadors 
could listen 
to the 

speeches de- 
livered in the 
assembly.) 

His treat- 
ment of offi- 
cials and 
senators. 



His children. 

Capitolinus, 
Atitoninus 
Pius, 10. 



306 The Five Good Emperors 



His recrea- 
tions. 

Capitolinus, 
Antoninus 
Pius, II. 



His legisla- 
tion ; his 
death. 

Capitolinus, 
Antoninus 
Pius, 12. 



nius to come from Chalcis to Rome than from his lodgings 
to the palace." 

An illustration of the emperor's kindness of heart is the 
story that when Marcus was lamenting the death of his 
teacher, and the courtiers were trying to restrain him from 
showing his love, Antoninus remarked, " Let him be human ; 
neither philosophy nor empire kills the affections." 

Antoninus loved the theatre. He found great enjoyment 
in fishing and hunting as well as in walking and conversing 
with his friends. The vintage festival he celebrated like a 
private person in company with his friends. Throughout all 
the provinces he honored rhetoricians and philosophers and 
granted them maintenance. 

The extant orations which pass under his name most 
authorities say were composed by others ; yet Marius Max- 
imus declares they are the emperor's own. His friends 
dined with him privately as well as on state occasions ; and 
he never allowed a sacrifice to be made by another in his 
place, unless he was sick. When he sought honors for him- 
self or his sons, he did it as a private citizen. He often 
dined at the houses of his friends. The following story illus- 
trates his politeness. Once he visited the house of Homul- 
lus, and admiring its columns of porphyry, he inquired of 
the owner where he got them. Homullus replied, " When 
you enter the house of another, you should be deaf and 
dumb." The emperor patiently submitted to the rebuke ; 
in fact he always hstened without irritation to this man's 
numerous jokes. 

Antoninus made many laws, in which he employed the 
learned jurists, Vindius Verus, Salvius Valens, Volusius Mae- 
cianus, Ulpius Marcellus, and Diavolenus. Seditions, where- 
ever excited, he settled with moderation and dignity rather 
than with harshness. The burial of the dead within cities 
was forbidden, and a fixed sum provided for gladiatorial 
shows. ... Of all his acts he gave an account in the senate 
as well as through proclamations. 



character 307 

Although he was seventy years old when he died, his sub- 
jects mourned for him as if he were a youth. 

Antoninus was tall and comely in person ; and when old Personal 
age bowed his stately form, he bound his breast with linden and diaralf- 
boards to hold him upright as he walked. In his later years ter. 
he used to eat a piece of dried bread before the morning Capitoiinus, 
reception, to strengthen himself for his social duties. His pius, 13. 
voice was deep and sonorous but agreeable. 

With perfect unanimity the senate deified him, while all 
praised his devotion to duty, his mercy, and his holy life. 
It decreed him all the honors it had ever given to the best 
princes, including a priest to attend to his worship, games 
in the Circus, a temple, and a college of Antonine brothers. 
He was almost the only emperor who, so far as in him lay, 
passed his life free from the blood of citizens and foreigners, 
and who might justly be compared with Numa in good for- 
tune, piety, and calmness, as well as in the observance of 
religious rites on every proper occasion. 

Do everything as a disciple of Antoninus. Remember "imitate 
his constancy in every act, which was conformable to reason, ^^sc^iarac- 
and his evenness in all things, and his piety, and the serenity Marcus 
of his countenance, and his sweetness, and his disregard of Aureiius, 
empty fame, and his efforts to understand things ; and how vi.'^ao.' ' ' 
he would never let anything pass without having first most 
carefully examined it and clearly understood it ; and how he 
bore with those who blamed him unjustly without blaming 
them in return ; how he did nothing in a hurry ; and how he 
listened not to calumnies, and how exact an examiner of 
manners and actions he was ; and not given to reproach 
people, nor timid, not suspicious, nor a sophist ; and with 
how little he was satisfied, such as lodging, bed, dress, food, 
servants ; and how laborious and patient . . . and his firm- 
ness and uniformity in his friendships ; and how he tolerated 
freedom of speech in those who opposed his opinions ; and 
the pleasure he had when any man showed him anything 
better ; and how religious he was without superstition. Imi- 



308 The Five Good Emperors 

tate all this that thou mayest have as good a conscience, 
when thy last hour comes, as he had. 



Marcus Aurelius Antoninus 



His early 
life. 

Capitolinus, 
Marcus 
Antoninus, i, 

lb. 2, 



His acces- 
sion, 161 A.D. 

Capitolinus, 
Marcus 
Antoni7ius, 7. 



The charac- 
ter of his 
rule. 



Marcus Antoninus, who through the changing fortunes of 
life remained true to philosophy, excelled all other emperors 
in the purity of his character. 

From his childhood he was serious ; and when he had out- 
grown the care of nurses, he was placed under famous 
teachers, who instructed him in the principles of philosophy. 
. . . Even as a boy he devoted himself with great enthusi- 
asm to learning; in his twelfth year he put on the garb of 
the philosophers and adopted their severe mode of life, 
wearing their mantle and sleeping on the bare ground. 
With difficulty his mother persuaded him to recline on a 
couch covered with skins. 

To his twenty-third year, during all the time he passed 
in the palace of his adoptive father, his conduct was such 
that the father's love for him grew greater and greater. In 
all these years the son was absent from the father but two 
nights only, and these not in succession. Accordingly as An- 
toninus felt his own end approaching, he gathered his friends 
and the prefects about him, and in their presence he recom- 
mended Marcus as his successor. . . . After the depar- 
ture of the sainted Antoninus, the senate required Marcus to 
undertake the government. Immediately he associated with 
himself in power his brother, whom he thereupon named 
Lucius Aurelius Verus Commodus, and added the titles 
Caesar and Augustus. From that hour forth they enjoyed 
equal shares of authority, so that for the first time the Ro- 
man empire had two Augusti. 

The people enjoyed under him as full freedom as had 
been theirs under the republic. The tendency of all his 
measures was to restrain men from evil and to encourage 
them to virtue. By bountiful rewards, by indulgence and 



Administration 



309 



freedom, he made the bad good and the good better ; and 
he patiently endured all taunts. For mstance, a certain 
Vetrasinus, a man of ill repute, asked him for an office ; and 
when the emperor advised him first to win a better reputa- 
tion in the eyes of the public, he replied, " I see many 
prcetors who have fought against me in the arena." Anto- 
ninus quietly submitted to the gibe. 

Such was the terror of the impending Marcomannic War 
that Antoninus summoned priests from every quarter of the 
world, filled Rome with foreign rites, and purified the city 
by all the means in his power. These ceremonies delayed 
him in setting out for the war. For seven days he held the 
lectisternia according to Roman rites. 

At the same time a pestilence raged at Rome with such 
violence that the bodies of the dead had to be borne away 
on common carriages and wagons. On this occasion the 
Antonines passed the strictest regulations regarding burial 
and tombs. . . . Many thousands of people, including a 
great number of eminent men, succumbed to the plague. 
The most respectable among them received statues from the 
emperor, by whose kindness, too, the bodies of the common 
people were given burial at public expense. 

At this time a certain impostor with some confederates 
sought an opportunity to plunder the city. Climbing a wild 
fig-tree in the Campus Martius, he told the crowd, which 
had gathered about him, that if in faUing from the tree he 
should change into a stork, fire would come down from 
heaven to destroy the world. At a stated time, accordingly, 
he fell from the tree, while he allowed a stork to escape from 
his bosom. He was brought before the emperor, who par- 
doned him after receiving his confession. 

Toward all his kinsmen Marcus cherished so benevolent 
a disposition that he not only loaded them with honors of 
every kind, but granted his son, a vile, wicked creature, first 
the title of Caesar, and presently the priestly dignity, the 
title of emperor, a share in a triumph, and the consulship. 



Capitolinus, 
Alarcus 
Antoninus, 
12. 



War and 
pestilence. 

Capitolinus, 

Alarcus 

Antoninus, 

13- 

(A festival in 

which images 

of certain 

gods were 

placed at 

table on 

couches.) 



An 
impostor. 



The 

emperor's 

kinsmen. 

Capitolinus, 
Marcus 
Antoninus, 
16. 



3 I o The Five Good Emperors 



The Marco- 
mannic War. 

Capitolinus, 
Marcus 
Antoninus, 
17- 



The sale of 
valuables. 



His death, 

l8o A.D. 



It was on this occasion that the emperor himself walked in 
the Circus by the side of the triumphal car in which rode 
his son. 

After the death of Verus, Marcus ruled the provinces with 
the utmost moderation and gentleness. In his war with the 
Germans he was successful ; and with great valor as well as 
with good fortune he brought personally to an end the Mar- 
comannic War — a conflict as formidable as any in history. 
This result he achieved at a time when a severe plague was 
destroying many thousands of people and soldiers. Panno- 
nia he liberated from slavery by the total overthrow of the 
Marcomanni, Sarmatians, Vandals, and Quadi. He then 
celebrated his victory in a triumph along with Commodus, 
whom he had already named Caesar. 

In paying the expenses of the war, he had exhausted the 
treasury ; and unwilling to levy an extraordinary tax on the 
provinces, he held an auction of the imperial valuables in 
the Forum of the divine Trajan, and there sold the bowls of 
gold, crystal, and porcelain, the imperial vases, his wife's 
gold-embroidered, silk robes, and even the jewels, a great 
quantity of which he found in Hadrian's secret cabinet. 
This auction, lasting two months, brought so much money 
that Marcus was enabled to prosecute the Marcomannic War 
to a desirable close, and was afterward in a position to give 
the buyers the privilege of returning whatever they pleased 
and of recovering their money, without troubhng any one, 
however, who wished or who did not wish, to restore the 
goods. At that time he granted the higher nobihty the priv- 
ilege of giving dinners with the same splendor and the same 
table-furnishings as he himself enjoyed. So liberal was he, 
too, in his public expenses that he once exhibited a hundred 
lions and had them shot with arrows. 

He reigned in the affections of all ; some called him a 
beloved brother, others a father, and others a son, as each 
one's age suggested. At last he died in the eighteenth year 
of his reign and the sixty-first of his life. So brightly did 



Meditations 



3" 



his love shine over all on that day that no one thought of Capitolinus, 
mourning him, for all were convinced that he had come 
them from the gods and had now returned to heaven. 



i8. 



liUS, 



parents and 
teachers. 

Marcus 
Aurelius, 
Meditations, 
i. 2-9, 12, 14. 



Some of the Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus 

From the reputation and remembrance of my father I From his 
learned modesty and manliness. 

From my mother, piety and beneficence, and abstinence 
not only from evil deeds, but even from evil thoughts ; sim- 
plicity, too, in my way of living, far removed from the habits 
of the rich. 

From Diognetus, not to busy myself about trifles, and not 
to give credit to the sayings of miracle-workers and jugglers 
about incantations and the driving away of demons and 
such things; and not to breed quails (for fighting), nor to 
give myself up passionately to such things ; and to endure 
freedom of speech ; and to have become acquainted with 
philosophy ; and to have been a hearer, first of Bacchius, 
then of Tandasis and Marcianus ; and to have written dia- 
logues in my youth; and to have desired a plank bed 
and skin, and whatever else of the kind belongs to the 
Grecian discipline. 

From Rusticus I received the impression that my char- 
acter required improvement and discipline ; and from him 
I learned not be led astray to sophistic rivalry, nor to 
writing on speculative matters, nor to delivering little horta- 
tory orations, nor to showing myself off as a man who prac- 
tices much discipline, or does benevolent acts in order to 
make a display ; and to abstain from rhetoric and poetry 
and fine writing ; and not to walk about in the house in my 
outdoor dress, nor to do other things of the kind ; and to 
v/rite my letters with simplicity, like the letter which Rusti- 
cus wrote from Sinuessa to my mother ; and with respect 
to those who have offended me by words or done me 
wrong, to be easily disposed to be pacified and reconciled, 



312 The Five Good Emperors 

as soon as they have shown a readiness to be reconciled ; 
and to read carefully and not be satisfied with a superficial 
understanding of a book, nor hastily to give my assent to 
those who talk overmuch. 

From Apollonius I learned freedom of will and an unde- 
viating steadiness of purpose ; and to look to nothing else, 
not even for a moment, except to reason ; and to be always 
the same, in sharp pains, on the occasion of the loss of a 
child, and in long illness. 

From Sextus, a benevolent disposition, and the example 
of a family governed in a fatherly manner, and the idea of 
living conformably to nature ; and gravity without affecta- 
tion, and to look carefully after the interest of friends, and 
to tolerate ignorant persons, and those who form opinions 
without consideration. He had the power of readily ac- 
commodating himself to all, so that intercourse with him 
was more agreeable than any flattery ; and at the same time 
he was most highly venerated by those who associated with 
him ; and he had the faculty both of discovering and of 
ordering in an intelligent and methodical way, the principles 
necessary for life ; and he never showed anger or any other 
passion, but was entirely free from passion, and also most af- 
fectionate ; and he could express approbation without noisy 
display, and he possessed much knowledge without osten- 
tation. 

From Alexander, the follower of Plato, not frequently nor 
without necessity to say to any one or to write in a letter 
that I have no leisure ; nor continually to excuse the neglect 
of duties toward those with whom we live, by alleging urgent 
occupations. 

From Severus, to love my kin, and to love truth, and to 
love justice. . . . And from him I received the idea of a gov- 
ernment in which there is equal law for all, a government 
administered with regard to equal rights and equal freedom 
of speech, and an idea of kingly government, which respects 
most of all the freedom of the governed. 



Our Relation with Nature 3 i 3 

Never value anything as profitable to thyself which shall Harmony 
compel thee to break thy promise, to lose thy self-respect, to ^' ^^ "^^' 
hate any man, to suspect, to curse, to act the hypocrite, to jji ''' ' " "'"■^' 
desire anything which needs walls and curtains. 

As physicians have always their instruments and knives Z-^. iii. 13- 
ready for cases which suddenly require their skill, so do 
thou have principles ready for the understanding of things 
divine and human, and for doing everything, even the small- 
est, with a recollection of the bond which unites the divine 
and human to each other. For neither wilt thou do any- 
thing well which pertains to man without at the same time 
having a reference to things divine ; or the contrary. 

Take away thy opinion, and then there is taken away the 3. iv. 7. 
complaint, " I have been harmed." Take away the com- 
plaint, " I have been harmed," and the harm is taken away. 

Everything harmonizes with me, which is harmonious to /d. iv. 23. 
thee, O Universe. Nothing for me is too early or too late, 
which is in due time for thee. Everything is fruit to me 
which thy seasons bring, O Nature ; from thee are all things, 
in thee are all things, and to thee all things return. 

Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having 
one substance and one soul ; and observe how all things 
have reference to one perception, the perception of this one //'■ iv. 40. 
living being ; and how all things act with one movement ; 
and how all things are the cooperating causes of all things 
which exist. 

A prayer of the Athenians : " Rain, rain, O dear Zeus, 3. v. 7. 
down on the ploughed fields of the Athenians, and on the 
plains." In truth we ought not to pray at all, or we ought 
to pray in this simple and noble fashion. 

How hast thou behaved hitherto to the gods, thy parents, 3. v. 31. 
brethren, children, teachers, to those who looked after thy 
infancy, to thy friends, kinsfolk, to thy slaves? Consider if 
thou hast hitherto behaved to all in such a way that this 
may be said of thee, — 

Never has wronged a man in deed or word. 



3 1 4 The Five Good Emperors 



Meditations, 
vi. 2, 



Jb. vi. 28. 



lb. vii. 9. 



Do right on 
principle. 

Meditations , 
viii. 43. 



/^. X. S. 



/iJ. X. 10. 



/(>. X. 21. 



/^. xi. 29. 



Let it make no difference to thee whether thou art cold 
or warm, if thou art doing thy duty ; and whether thou art 
drowsy or satisfied with sleep ; and whether ill-spoken of or 
praised ; and whether dying or doing something else. For 
it is one of the acts of life — this act by which we die ; it is 
sufficient then in this act also to do well what we have in 
hand. 

Death is a cessation of the impressions through the senses, 
and of the pulling of the strings which move the appetites 
. . . and of service to the flesh. 

All things are implicated with one another, and the bond 
is holy ; and there is hardly anything unconnected with any 
other thing. For things have been coordinated, and they 
combine to form the same universe. For there is one uni- 
verse made up of all things, and one God who pervades all 
things, and one substance and one law, one common reason 
in all intelligent animals, and one truth. 

Different things delight different people. But it is my 
delight to keep the ruling faculty sound, without turning 
away either from any man or from any of the things which 
happen to men, but looking at and receiving all with wel- 
come eyes and using everything according to its value. 

Whatever may happen to thee, it was prepared for thee 
from all eternity ; and the implication of causes was from 
eternity spinning the thread of thy being. 

A spider is proud when he has caught a fly, and another 
being when he has caught a poor hare, and another when 
he has taken a little fish in a net, and another when he has 
taken wild boars, and another when he has taken bears, and 
another when he has taken Sarmatians. Are not these rob- 
bers, if thou examinest their opinions ? 

"The earth loves the shower;" and "the solemn ether 
loves ; " and the universe loves to reproduce whatever is 
about to be. I say then to the universe, " I love as thou 
lovest." 

Neither in writing nor in reading wilt thou be able to lay 



Future Life 3 i 5 



down rules for others before thou shalt have first learned to 

obey rules thyself. Much more is this so in life. Meditations, 

No man can rob us of our free will. ^'' ^ ' 

How can it be that the gods, after having arranged all Future life, 
things well and benevolently for mankind, have overlooked Meditatiotis, 
this alone, that some men and very good men, and men ^■'"' ^' 
who, as we may say, have had most communion with the 
divinity, and through pious acts and religious observances 
have been most intimate with the divinity, when they have 
once died should never exist again, but should be completely 
extinguished ? 

How small a part of the boundless and unfathomable time lb. xii. 32. 
is assigned to every man ! For it is very soon swallowed up 
in the eternal. And how small a part of the whole sub- 
stance ! And how small a part of the universal soul ! And 
on what a small clod of the whole earth thou creepest ! 
Reflecting on all this, consider nothing to be great, except 
to act as thy nature leads thee, and to endure that which 
the common nature brings. 

Man, thou hast been a citizen in this great state (of the ib. xii. 36. 
world) : what difference does it make to thee whether for 
five years or for three? For that which conforms to the 
laws is just for all. Where is the hardship then, if no tyrant 
nor yet an unjust judge sends thee away from the state, but 
nature, who brought thee into it? The same as if a praetor 
who has employed an actor dismisses him from the stage. 
" I have not finished the five acts, but only three." Thou 
sayest well, but in life the three acts are the whole drama ; 
for what shall be a completed drama is determined by him 
who was once the cause of its composition, and now of its 
dissolution : but thou art the cause of neither. Depart 
then satisfied, for he also who releases thee is satisfied. 



316 The Five Good Emperors 



STUDIES 

1. What is the significance of the fact that in this period (96-180 
A.D.) provincials began to rise to the office of emperor ? 

2. What indications are there that Nerva was timid ? that he was 
too weak and mild to rule ? What charitable institution did he found 
(afterward developed by Trajan ; cf. Rome, p. 248) ? Why did not 
Antoninus congratulate Nerva on his accession ? 

3. What were Trajan's admirable social qualities ? What were his 
chief merits as a ruler ? 

4. What was the extent of his conquests ? What became of them 
after his death (cf. Rome, p. 251 ; Ancient History, p. 403) ? 

5. What proof does his correspondence with Pliny afford of his 
interest in the welfare of the empire ? of his energy and activity ? of 
his justice and humanity ? 

6. Why did he forbid the organization of a fire-company (cf. a law 
of the Twelve Tables, p. 93) ? 

7. From the same correspondence what may we infer as to Pliny's 
qualifications for the governorship of a province ? Why did he refer 
everything to the emperor ? Do you suppose that other governors did 
the same ? Was his interference in the affairs of the cities {inunici- 
pia) advantageous to the latter ? In what case was Pliny ready to 
resort to oppression ? 

8. What does the correspondence teach concerning the Christians ? 
How did the government regard secret assemblies (cf. Letter 43) ? 
Why in Pliny's opinion should the Christians be punished ? 

9. What were the objects of Hadrian's travels ? How did he im- 
prove the army ? What public works did he build ? 

10. Why did Hadrian pry into the affairs of his friends ? Was this 
a culpable habit ? In what respects was his inquiring disposition 
praiseworthy ? 

11. What were Hadrian's chief laws? What improvements did 
they make in the condition of freemen and of slaves ? 

12. Why did he hold local offices in various places ? How did he 
benefit the provinces ? Did he pay more attention to the provinces 
than to Rome ? What is said of his administration of Rome and 
Italy ? 

13. Describe the personal appearance and the private character of 
Hadrian ? 

14. What is your opinion of the style of his biographer (Spar- 
tianus) ? Is it well connected and logical ? Rewrite the biography 
arranging all the material logically under appropriate topics. 



Studies 3 1 7 



15. Describe the character of Antoninus Pius. How did he treat 
his adoptive father Hadrian ? the senators ? the people and soldiers ? 
the magistrates ? 

16. Who were the Faustinianze ? What public works did the 
emperor build ? Did he take as much interest in the provinces as 
Hadrian had shown ? 

17. What kind of a man was Apollonius ? 

18. Describe the personal appearance of Antoninus. What were 
the excellent traits of his character mentioned by his adopted son, 
Marcus Aurelius ? 

19. Describe the childhood and youth of Marcus Aurelius. 

20. How did he try to improve the character of his subjects ? Did 
he treat his kinsmen with too great indulgence ? 

21. What religious preparation did he make for the Marcomannic 
War ? What feature of his character does this work disclose ? How 
did he raise funds for the war ? 

22. What did he learn from his various teachers and relatives ? 
Does he mean to say that he acquired all these good qualities ? 

23. What was his idea of a good government ? 

24. What was his view of nature and of his relation to it ? How 
did he regard duty ? pleasure and pain ? What did he think of con- 
querors ? 

25. What was his belief as to death and the future life ? 



INDEX 



A-chae'ans, hostages from, 144. 

A-chil'les, 79. 

Ac'ti-um, battle of, 226. 

Ad-ri-at'ic Gulf, 14. 

/E'diles, 138, 142. 

^'du-i, 203, 264. 

^-miri-a, 146. 

^-mil'i-us, Lu'ci-us ^^milius Pau'- 
lus, 146, 149. 

^-ne'as, 20, 29, 102. 

yE'qui-ans, 86. 

^-ro'pus, 78. 

A-fid'i-us, 184. 

Af-ra'ni-us, Lu'ci-us, 211. 

Ag-a-mem'non, 79. 

A-gath'o-cles, 105. 

A-ge'nor, loi. 

Ag-ric'o-la, 279. 

A-grip'pa, Me-ne'ni-us, 88 ; Mar'cus, 
238, 240, 268. 

Ag-rip-pi'na, (Vip-sa'ni-a) wife of 
Tiberius, 243 ; wife of Germanicus, 
247, 252, 253 ; daughter of Ger- 
manicus, 254, 265 ; a colony (now 
Cologne), 288. 

Al'ba Lon'ga, 184; founded, 20; 
royal dynasty at, 29 ; destroyed by 
Rome, 45-49. 

Al'ban Lake, mystery of the, 67. 

A-le'si-a, 263. 

Al-ex-an'der, the Great, 78, 189 ; the 
philosopher, 312. 

Al-ex-an'dri-a, 214, 234. 

Al'gi-dus, Mount, 91. 

Al'Ii-a, battle of the, 69. 

Al-lob'ro-ges, 115, 117. 

Alps, Hannibal in the, 115-118. 

Am-bra'ci-a, 78. 

Am-i-ter'num, 119. 



A-mu'li-us, 21, 29. 

A-nar'tes, 209. 

An-chi'ses, 20, 199. 

An'cus Mar'ci-us, founds Ostia, 20; 

reign of, 49. 
A-ni'ci-us, Lu'ci-us, 1391 
An'i-o River, 87. 
An-the-mu'si-a, 290. 
An-tig'o-nus, 78. 
An-ti'o-chus, 112, 123, 137. 
An'ti-um, 20, 61. 
An-to'ni-a, 261. 
An-to-ni'nus, Ar'ri-us, grandfather of 

the emperor, 286; the emperor 

(Pi'us), 302-308; Mar'cus Au- 

re'li-us, 302,305, 308-315. 
An'to-ny, Mark (Mar'cus An-to'- 

ni-us, consul in 99 B.C.), 175; his 

grandson, colleague of Caesar, 217 ; 

opposes Octavius, 221 ; a triumvir, 

223-226; Gai'us, 219. 
Ap'en-nine Mts., 15, 24. 
A'pex, 41. 
A'pis, 297. 

A-pol'lo, 67; Gallic, 206. 
Ap-ol-lo'ni-a, 220. 
Ap-ol-lo'ni-us, 305, 312. 
Ap'pi-an, 13. 
Ap-u-lei'us, Sex'tus, 236. 
A-pu'li-a, 195. 
Aq-ui-lo'ni-a, 75. 
Aq-ui-ta'ni-ans, 202. 
Ar'abs, 226. 
Ar-che-la'us, 182, 
Ar'de-a, 20, 56. 
Ar-gi-le'tum, 40. 
Ar-me'ni-a, 211, 290. 
Army of Servius, 52; reformed by 

Marius, 173. 



319 



320 



Index 



Ar-run'ti-us, Lu'ci-us, 237. 

As (a copper coin), 52. 

As-ca'ni-us, 20. 

A'si-a, province of, 182. 

Assembly, see Comitia. 

As-syr'i-a, As-syr'i-ans, 124, 290. 

As-tu'ri-cus, 282. 

A-the'ni-ans, prayer of the, 313. 

Ath'ens, 182, 263. 

A-lil'i-us, Reg'u-lus, 108 ; Mar'cus, 

138. 
At-ti-a'nus, Cse'li-us, 295. 
Au'fi-dus River, 234. 
Au'gu-ry, 31. 
Au-gus'tus, see Octavius. 
Au-re'li-a O-res-til'Ia, 194. 
Au-re'Ii-us, Quin'tus, 184 ; Victor, 14. 
Aus'ter, 234. 

Av'en-tine Mount, 31, 87, 91. 
Axes of Magistrate, 84, 185. 

Bac-chan'tes, Bac'chus, 138, 

Bac'chi-us, 311. 

Bai'as, 302. 

Ba-le-a'res, 119. 

Ba-sil'i-ca Por'ci-a, 154. 

Bel'gi-ans, 202. 

Bib'u-lus, colleague of Caesar, 201 ; 

an sedile under Tiberius, 250. 
Bisons, 210. 
Bi-thyn'i-a, 123. 
Blos'si-us, 166. 
Boe-o'tia, 183. 
Bos-po-ra'ne-ans, 290. 
Bravery, encouragements to, 133-136. 
Bren'nus, 70. 
Breu'ni, 233. 
Brit'ain, 279. 
Brun-dis'i-um, 212, 220, 
Brut'ti-um, no. 
Bru'tus, Lu'ci-us Ju'ni-us, 57, 60, 84 ; 

Mar'cus, 216, 220, 224; Dec'i-mus, 

221, 223. 
Bu-co-li-a'nus, 217. 
Bur'rus, Af-ra'ni-us, 265. 
Byr'sa, 102, 103. 

Cse-ci'na, 247. 



Csec'u-bum, 19. 

Cae'li-an Hill, 45, 48. 

Cae're, 119. 

Cas'sar, Gai'us Ju'li-us, 125; Com- 
mentaries of, 5 ; his early career, 
198-201; his conquest of Gaul, 201, 
203, 211 ; his description of the 
Gauls and Germans, 202-210 ; his 
alliance with Pompey and Crassus, 
211 ; his war with Pompey, 212-215; 
his government, 215 ; his assassi- 
nation, 216-218 ; Lu'ci-us , 223 ; 
Gaius and Lucius, adopted sons 
of Augustus, 236, 241, 243. 

Ca-Ia'ti-a, 221. 

Ca-lig'u-la (Gai'us Cas'sar, third em- 
peror), 247, 252-255. 

Ca-mil'lus, 68-71. 

Cam-pa'ni-a, described, 22. 

Cam 'pus Mar'ti-us, 53, 187; under 
Augustus, 238. 

Candidate for office, 142. 

Can'nae, battle of, 122. 

Ca-no'pus, 302. 

Can-ta'bri-an, 234. 

Can-u-lei'an Law, 91. 

Ca-phis'i-as, 78. 

Cap'i-to-line Hill, 70, 164, 176. 

Cap-i-to-li'nus, 14. 

Cap-pa-do 'ci-a, 298. 

Cap'ra, Lake of, 38. 

Ca'pre-ae, 276. 

Cap'u-a, 18, 22; gladiatorial school 
at, 191. 

Car'bo, 190. 

Car-che'don, 102. 

Car-is'ti-a, 43. 

Car-nu'tes, 204. 

Car'thage, first treaty of, with Rome, 
60 ; founding of, loi ; compared 
with Rome, 103 ; first war with 
Rome, 104-112; second war, 112- 
122 ; third war, 124 ; rebuilt, 125. 

Cas'ca, 217. 

Cas-i-li'num, 221. 

Cas-pe'ri-us, 287. 

Cas'si-us, Spu'ri-us, 85, 89, 97; 
Gai'us, 216, 220, 224. 



Index 



321 



Cas'tor, 254. 

Cat'i-line, Lu'ci-us, 194-198. 

Ca-til'i-us Se-ve'rus, 303. 

Ca'to the Censor, Origins of, 4; life 
of, 150-157; Mar'cus, his grand- 
son, 155 ; Sa-lo'ni-us, 155 ; the 
Younger (philosopher), 155. 

Cat'ti, Chat'ti, 278. 

Ca-tul'lus, the poet, 6 ; an informer, 
287. 

Cavalry (eq'ui-tes, knights), 53, 85; 
Gallic, 205 ; Pompey's, 213. 

Cel'sus, Ju'li-us, 298. 

Cel-ti-be'ri-ans, 171, 190. 

Celts, 15. 

Cen'sors, 94; during the Punic wars, 
128, 131, 154. 

Census, 52. 

Ce'res, 25. 

Cer'ma-lus, 29. 

Ce-the'gus, 194. 

Chae-ro-ne'a, 183. 

Chal'cis, I. 

Chal-de'an soothsayer, 156. 

Chi'ron, 282. 

Christians, persecuted by Nero, 270 ; 
under Trajan, 294. 

Cic'e-ro, Mar'cus Tul'li-us, as a 
writer, 6 ; statesman and orator, 
194-198 ; death of, 224. 

Ci-li'ci-a, home of pirates, 192-194. 

Cim'ber, Til'li-us, 217. 

Cin'e-as, 81. 

Cin'na, 178, 199. 

Cir-cei'i, 61. 

Cir'cus Max'i-mus, 30, 56, 140. 

Cis-pa-da'na, 15. 

Cith-e-re'a, 257. 

Classes, Servian, 52. 

Clau'di-us, Ap'pi-us Claudius Cas'- 
cus, 2, 81 ; Appius, the decemvir, 
97; Gai'us, 97; Appius, the com- 
mander at Messene, 107 ; the em- 
peror, 261-265. 

Cle-o-pa'tra, 225-227. 

Clients, 32; Gallic, 205. 

Clo-a'ca Max'i-ma, 56. 

Clu'si-um, 61. 
Y 



Co'an robes, 257. 

Co'drus, 282. 

Col'chi-ans, 290. 

Col-la'ti-a, 57. 

Col'line Gate, 70. 

Com-i'ti-a (assembly, people), dur- 
ing the Punic wars, 127-133; Cu- 
ri-a'ta, 33, 49; Cen-tu-ri-a'ta, 53, 
57; tri-bu'ta, 91, 92, 164; tumul- 
tuous, 175 ; abolished, 245. 

Com'mo-dus (son of Marcus Aure- 
lius), 310. 

Con-cil'i-um of all the citizens, 99. 

Confederacy of Etruscans, 19. 

Constitution, Roman, under the kings, 
31-34, 40, 45, 49, 51-54, 57 ; of the 
early republic, 84-99 '• compared 
with the Carthaginian, 103; in the 
Punic wars, 127-136. 

Con-su-a'li-a, 35. 

Con'suls, 2, 84; in the Punic wars, 
127, 130, 132; after Sulla, 185. 

Contractors, 131. 

Cor-du-e'ni-ans, 290. 

Co-ri'o-li, 64. 

Cor-ne'li-a, 159, 170. 

Cor-ne'li-i, freedmen of Sulla, 186. 

Cor'si-ca (Cyr'nus), described, 26. 

Cor-to'na, Mount, 119. 

Cras'sus, Li-cin'i-us, 191, 211 ; Mar'- 
cus, 236; Cal-pur'ni-us, 287. 

Crete, 211. 

Crowns, mural, 133; civic, 98, 134. 

Ctes'i-phon, 290. 

Cu'mae, i, 63, iii. 

Cu'res, 38, 39. 

Cu'ri-se, 31. 

Cu-ri-a'ti-i and Hor-a'ti-i, 46. 

Cu-ri-o'nes, 31. 

Cu'ri-us, Man'i-us, 152; Quin'tus, 

195- 
Cyc'la-des, 182. 
Cyp'ri-an Street, 54. 
Cyr'nus, see Corsica. 

Da'ci-a, Da'ci-ans, 209, 279, 290. 
Dan'ube River, 209. 
Dau'nus, 234. 



322 



Index 



Debt, law of, 93. 

De-ceb'a-lus, 290. 

De-cem'virs, 90. 

De'ci-us, Pub'li-us, 77 ; Ju-bel'li-us, 
105. 

De'los, 182. 

Del'phi, 67. 

Di-a'na, temple of, 169. 

Di-av-o-le'nus, 306. 

Dic-ta'tor, 2, 68, 85, 86, 87; office 
of, revived, 185. 

Di'do, loi. 

Di'o Cas'si-us, 13. 

Di-o-do'rus the Si-cil'i-an, 8. 

Di-og-ne'tus, 311. 

Di-o-nys'i-us of Hal-i-car-nas'sus, 8. 

Di-oph'a-nes, 166. 

Dis, 207. 

Do-mi'ti-an, 278-281. 

Drep'a-na, no. 

Druids, 204. 

Dru-sil'la, 254. 

Dru'sus, Liv'i-us, 169; Clau'di-us, 
stepson of Augustus, 233, 240, 248; 
Clau-di-a'nus, 242; son of Tibe- 
rius, 243, 248, 253 ; son of Germani- 
cus, 254. 

Du-ca'ri-us, 121. 

Eg-na'ti-us, 230. 

E'gypt, 15. 

El-eu-sin'i-an mysteries, 298. 

Elks, 210. 

Embassies, I28. 

Emperors, Julian, 233-260 ; Claudian 

and Flavian, 261-285 ! " Good," 

286-317. 
En'na, 25. 

Ep-am-in-on'das, 152. 
E-pi'rus, 77, 212. 
Erc'te, Mount, no. 
Er-gas'tu-la, 299. 
E'ryx, Mount, in. 
Es'qui-line Hill, 266. 
E-tru'ri-a, 56. 
E-trus'cans (Tus'cans, Tyr-rhe'ni- 

ans), character and civilization of, 

18 ; at war with Rome, 61-63. 



Eu-boe'a, 182, 

Eu'me-nes, king of Pergamum, 152. 

Eu-phra'nor, 283. 

Eu-rip'i-des, 81, 109. 

Eu-se'bi-us, 14. 

Eu-tro'pi-us, 14. 

Exile, voluntary, 129, 

Fa'bi-us Pic'tor, 3, 5, 54, 66; Cas'so, 
90; Max'i-mus, 151; a propraetor 
of Spain, 167; Rep-e-ti'nus, 305. 

Fab-ra-te'ri-a, 283. 

Fa-bri'ci-us, Gai'us, 82. 

Fae'su-la, 195. 

Family, Gallic, 207. 

Farm, see Villa. 

Fas'ces, 84, 135, 165. 

Fas'ti, i; Consular, 2; of Ovid, 10. 

Father, power of, 34. 

Fau'nus, 258. 

Faus-ti'na, wife of Antoninus Pius, 
304; daughter, 305. 

Faus-tin-i-a'nse, 304. 

P'aus'tu-lus, 30. 

Faus'tus, 187. 

Festival, Latin, 20; to the dead, 42; 
Caristia, 43; of the corner-stones, 

43- 
Fi-de'nte, 255. 
Flac'cus, Ful'vi-us, 170. 
Fla-min'i-an Way, 241, 
Flam-i-ni'nus, 123, 154. 
Fla-min'i-us, 119-121. 
Flo'rus, 13. 
Flu-men'tan Gate, 99. 
Flute-players, 140. 
For-tu'na, at Prseneste, 22. 
Fo'rum, Roman, 38, 217; under 

Augustus, 239. 
Freedmen, in fire company, 21. 
Fru-si'no, 283. 
Ful-cin'i-a, 171. 
Ful'vi-a, 195. 

Funerals, 92, 134 ; Gallic, 207. 
Fu'ri-us, Quin'tus, 91. 

Ga'bi-i, 30, 269. 
Gal'ba, 271. 



Inde 



X 



323 



Gal'li-a Co-ma'ta, 263 ; see Gaul. 

Gal'Ius, 227. 

Ga-ronne' River, 202. 

Gaul, conquest of, 201 ; description 
of, 202-208. 

Gauls, sack Rome, 2, 69-71, 95; 
character of, 16-18, 202-208 ; and 
Hannibal, 115-117; conquered by 
C^sar, 201, 

Ga'vi-us Max'i-mus, 305. 

Gel'li-us, Au'lus, 13. 

Ge-nau'ni-ans, 233. 

Gen'tes, lesser, 50. 

Gen'thi-us, 140. 

Ger-man'i-cus, Cse'sar, 246-249, 252. 

Ger'ma-ny, Ger'mans, 202; de- 
scribed, 208-210. 

Glau'ci-a, 175. 

Gods, origin of belief in, 227-229. 

Government, see Constitution. 

Grac'chus, Gai'us, 125, 159, 167-171 ; 
Ti-be'ri-us, the father, 148, 159; 
Tiberius, brother of Gains, 159- 
166, 171. 

Grae-co-sta'di-uni, 304. 

Guilds, 40. 

Ha'dri-a, 295. 
Ha'dri-an, 295-302. 
Ha-mil'car Bar'ca, 110-112. 
Han'ni-bal, 78, 112-124; character 

of, 122. 
Has'dru-bal, 113. 
Has-ta'ti, 121. 
Hel-ve'ti-ans, 202. 
Her-a-cle'a, battle of, 80. 
Her-ae'a Mts., 25. 
Her'cu-les, Pillars of, 112, 125. 
Her-cyn'i-an forest, 209. 
Her-min'i-us, Ti'tus, 62. 
Her'ni-cans, 89. 
Hi'e-ro, king of Syracuse, 107. 
Hir-pi'ni, 23. 
Hir'ti-us, 221-223. 
Hor'ace, 9. 

Hor-a'ti-i and Cu-ri-a'ti-i, 46. 
Ho-ra'ti-us, Mar'cus I, 60; II, 92; 

Co'cles, 61. 



Housekeeper of Villa, 156. 
Hy-me-nas'us, 43. 

I-be'ri-a (Spain), 16; Carthaginians 
in, 112. 

Il'i-a, 29. 

Il'i-ad, 79. 

Il'i-um, see Troy. 

11-lyr'i-ans, 140. 

Il-lyr'i-cum, 244. 

Im-pe-ra'tor, 190. 

Indian, 234. 

In-su'bri-an (Gallic tribe), 121. 

In'ter-rex, In-ter-re'ges, 45, 49. 

I-o-la'us, I-o-lse'i, 26. 

I-o'ni-an Sea, 14. 

I-sau'ri-a, 291. 

Is'ter (Dan'ube) River, 235. 

I-tal'i-ca, 295. 

It'a-ly, geography and people, 14-28; 
falls under power of Rome, 60-83 > 
condition of, in time of the Gracchi, 
1 61-163 ; and the Roman franchise, 
169. 

Ja-nic'u-lum Mount, 61. 

ja'nus, temple of, 40. 

Je-ru'sa-lem, 273. 

Jews, 249 ; conquered by Rome, 273. 

Ju-de'a, 273. 

Judges (jurors), appointed by Romu- 
lus, 32; selected from senate, 132; 
from the knights, 166. 

Ju-gur'tha, 170, 172-174. 

Ju'li-a, daughter of Augustus, 9, 243; 
daughter of Caesar, 211 ; grand- 
mother of Augustus, 219. 

Ju-li-a'nus, Sal'vi-us, 298. 

Ju'li-i, a Roman ^^«J, 199. 

Ju'ni-us, 76. 

Ju'no, 56, 68, 70, 119. 

Ju'pi-ter, 20; priest (fla'men) of, 41 ; 
temple of, 55, 176; a prayer to, 68, 
137, 197 ; Olympius, 254. 

Ju've-nal, 12. 

Kings, period of, 2,29-59; overthrow, 
57, 84 ; king of the sacrifices, 85. 



324 



Index 



Knights, see Cavalry. 

Las'li-us, Gai'us, 141. 

Land, public, 40, 45, 54, 89, 160 ; law, 
concerning, 162. 

La-ris'sa, 214. 

Lars Por'se-na, 61. 

Lar'ti-us, Spu'ri-us, 62; Ti'tus, first 
dictator, 85. 

Lat'ins, character of, i ; at Alba 
Longa, 20 ; treaty with Rome, 63 ; 
great war with Rome, 72-74 ; and 
the Roman franchise, 169. 

La-ti'nus, 20. 

La'ti-um, i, 61, 66; description of, 
19-22. 

Lau-ren'tum, 20, 61. 

La-vin'i-a, 20. 

La-vin'i-um, 20, 46, 64. 

Laws of the Twelve Tables, 92-94. 

Lec-ti-ster'ni-a, 309. 

Len'tu-lus, Cor-ne'li-us, 194; Gnas'- 
us, a consul, 236. 

Le-on-ti'ni, 25. 

Lep'i-dus, 191 ; his son, master of 
horse under Caesar, 216; as trium- 
vir, 223; as consul, 237; Lu'ci-us 
Pau'lus, brother of triumvir, 223. 

Li-bur'ni-an, 283. 

Lib'y-a, Lib'y-ans, 60, loi, 123, 172, 
178; Libyan war, 112. 

Li-cin'i-us, 169. 

Lic'tors, 84, 165. 

Life in Rome under the early empire, 
281-284. 

Li-gu'ri-a, 16. 

Li-gu'ri-ans, 15. 

Lil-y-bae'um, no. 

Linen Legion, 75. 

Liv'i-a, 242, 245, 252. 

Liv'i-i, a Roman ^^«j, 242. 

Li-vil'la, 254, 261. 

Liv'y, History of, 7. 

Lo'cri, no. 

Lu-ca'ni-a, Lu-ca'ni-ans, 79, 80. 

Lu-cre'ti-a, 56. 

Lu-cre'ti-us, 6. 

Lu-cul'lus, 182. 



Lus'trum, lustration, 128, 236. 
Luxury, increasing, 139, 146, 154, 171 ; 

under the empire, 250-252. 
Ly-ce'um, 302. 
Ly'ons, 261. 

Mac'e-don, Mac-e-do'ni-a, 124, 149. 

Mae-ce'nas, gardens of, 268. 

Mse'ci-us, Gem'i-nus, 72. 

Mae'li-us, Spu'ri-us, 97. 

Magistrates, annual, 2, 84 ; appointed 
by Romulus, 32; of the plebs, 88. 

Mam'er-tines, 105-107. 

Ma'nes, spirits of the dead, 223, 258. 

Man'li-us, Mar'cus, 70, 95-99; Ti'- 
tus, 72-74; Au'lus, 97; Gai'us, 195. 

Mar'a-thus, Ju'li-us, 239. 

Mar-cel'lus, Clau'di-us, 240. 

Mar-ci-a'nus, 311. 

Mar'ci-us, Gai'us Marcius Co-ri-o- 
la'nus, 63-66. 

Mar-co-man 'nic war, 309. 

Mar-co-me'di-ans, 290. 

Mar'i-us, Gai'us, 171-180; Marius, 
his adopted son, 185 ; Max'i-mus, 
306. 

Marne River, 202. 

Mars, Ma'vors, 29; Gallic, 206. 

Marseilles (Mar-salz'), 15. 

Mar'si-ans, 281. 

Masks, 135. 

Mau'ri-cus, Ju'ni-us, 287. 

Mau-so-le'um of Augustus, 238. 

Ma'vors, see Mars. 

Medes, 124, 234. 

Med-i-ter-ra ne-an Sea, 15. 

Meg'a-cles, 80. 

Mem'mi-us, 175. 

Mer'cu-ry, 206. 

Mer'u-ia, Cor-ne'li-us, 178, 180. 

Me'si-an Forest, 49. 

Mes-o-po-ta'mi-a, 291. 

Mes-sa'pi-ans, 79. 

Mes-se'ne, Mes-sa'na, 105-108. 

Me-tel'lus, (i) Cae-cil'i-us, 172, 174; 
(2) Gai'us, 183; (3) Cseciiins, 
son of (i), 190; (4) Quintus, con- 
sul, 60 B.C., 211. 



Index 



325 



Mi-le'tus, 200. 
Mi-ner'va, 56; Gallic, 206. 

Min-tur'nas, 177. 
Mi-se'num, 276. 
Mith-ri-da'tes, 178, 181-183. 
Morals, during the Punic wars, 138, 

146 ; in the early empire, 272. 
Music, origin of, 229. 
Mu'ti-na, 16. 
Mutiny under Tiberius, 245-248. 

Nae'vi-us, 3. 

Na'ples, I, 129. 

Nar'ni-a, 286. 

Ne'pos, Cor-ne'li-us, 6. 

Nep'tune, 35. 

Ne-ra'ti-us Pris'cus, 298. 

Ne'ro, son of Germanicus, 254 ; the 

emperor, 265-270. 
Ner'va, Coc-ce'i-us, 286-288. 
Nes'tor, 153. 
Nic-o-me-di'a, 292. 
Nile River, 125. 
Nimes (Xeem), 298. 
No'la, 18. 

No-men'tan Road, 270. 
Nu-man'ti-a, 160, 171. 
Nu'ma Pom-pil'i-us, 39-44. 
Nu-mid'i-a, 170, 172-174. 
Nu'mi-tor, 21, 29, 30. 

Oc-ta'vi-us Mar'cus, a tribune of the 
plebs, 163 ; Oc-ta'vi-us, a consul, 
178 ; Gai'us Ju'li-us Caesar Oc- 
ta-vi-a'nus (Au-gus'tus), 7, 21, 218- 
227 ; as emperor, 233-241 ; his 
opinion of Tiberius, 244. 

Op'i-ci (Oscans), 23. 

O-pim'i-us, 170. 

Orations, funeral, 2, 134-136. 

Or-chom'e-nus, 183. 

Or'phy-tus, 305. 

Os-dro-e'ni-ans, 290. 

Os'ti-a, 19, 49. 

Os'ti-an Road, 270. 

O'tho, 271. 

Overseer of villa, 155. 

Ov'id, 9. 



O'vi-us Pac'ci-us, 75. 
Oxhead Street, 219. 

Pal'a-tine Mount, earliest settlement 

on, I, 31 ; night watches on, 195. 
Pa'les, 37, 256. 
Pal'li-um, 300. 
Pan-no'ni-a, 245. 
Pa-nor'mus, no. 
Pan'sa, 221-223. 
Pa-pir'i-us, first censor, 95 ; Lu'ci-us 

Papirius Cur'sor, 76, 
Par-the'ni-us, 287. 
Pa-ta'vi-um, 16. 
Path-a-ma-si-ris, 290. 
Pa'tres, 32. 
Pa-tri'ci-ans, origin of, 32; increased 

by Augustus, 236. 
Patrons, 32. 
Paul (Saint), 270. 
Pau'lus, 262. 
Peace, temple of, 271. 
Per-cen'ni-us, 245. 
Per'i-cles, 152. 
Per-pen'na, 191. 
Per'si-ans, 124. 

Pe-ru'si-a, 227 ; Perusian war, 252. 
Pe-te'line grove, 99. 
Pe'ter (Saint), 264, 270. 
Phar-sa'lus, battle of, 212-214. 
Phi-lip'pi, battles of, 224. 
Phi-loc'ra-tes, 170. 
Phle-grae'an plains, 22. 
Phoe-ni'ci-ans, loi. 
Pi-ce'num, 195. 
Pin'da-rus, 224. 
Pirates, war with, 192-194. 
Pi'so, Lu'ci-us Cal-pur'ni-us Piso 

Fru'gi, 44, 87. 
Plan'cus, 262. 
Ple-bei'ans, plebs, origin of, 32; 

oppressed by patricians, 86; first 

secession, 87 ; their tribunes, 88 ; 

second secession, 91. 
Plei'a-des, 118, 234. 
Plin'y, the Elder, 11; the Younger, 

12; correspondence with Trajan, 

291-295. 



326 



Index 



Plo-ti'na, 296, 298. 

Plu'tarch, 13. 

Plu'to, 25. 

Pol-i-to'ri-um, 49. 

Pol'lux, 254. 

Pol-yb'i-us, History of, 4, 7 ; tutor of 

Scipio ^milianus, 125, 144-146. 
Pol-y-sper'chon, 78. 
Pom'pey (Gnse'us Pom-pei'us Mag'- 

nus), 125, 182, 189-194; unites with 

Caesar, 211 ; war with Caesar, 212- 

214 ; Sex'tus, son of Pompey, 252. 
Pom-po'ni-us, 169. 
Pon'tiffs (pon'ti-fex, pon-tif'i-ces), 

wrote fasti, i ; annals, 2, 3, 85, 91. 
Pon'tus, kingdom of, 180, 211. 
Po River, valley of the, 15. 
Prse-nes'te, 22, 185, 282; place of 

exile, 129. 
Prae'tor, 138, 185. 
Pri-a'pus, 256. 
Priests (fla'mi-nes, pi. of fla'men), 

wrote prayers, etc., i; appointed 

by Romulus, 32, 33; by Numa, 41. 
Prince (emperor), the cares of a, 

250-252. 
Prin'ci-pes, 121. 
Proc'u-lus Ju'li-us, 38. 
Pro-per'ti-us, 9. 
Proscriptions of Sulla, 184; of the 

Second Triumvirate, 223. 
Pro-ser'pi-na, Pros'er-pine,25. 
Provinces under the empire, 235. 
Pru-sen'ses, 291. 
Pru'si-as, 123. 
Pryt-a-ne'um, 302. 
Ptol'e-my, 159. 

Public works of Augustus, 237-239. 
Pu'nic war, first, 104-112; second, 

1 15-122; third, 124. 
Pyd'na, 149. 
Pyg-ma'li-on, loi. 
Pyr'e-nees Mts., 115. 
Pyr'rhus, 77-83, 124. 
Py-thag'o-ras, 17. 
Py-thag-o-re'an or Pyth-a-go're-an, 

283. 
Py'thon, 78. 



Qua'di, 310. 
Quses'tors, 128, 185. 
Quin-til'i-an, 11. 
Quin-ti'lis, 215. 
Qui-ri'nal Hill, 54. 
Qui-ri'tes, 38, 233. 

Ras'ti-ans, 233. 

Ranks, social, 32. 

Re-gil'li, 241. 

Re-gil'lus, Lake, battle of, 63, 73. 

Reindeer, 210. 

Religion, under Romulus, 33; under 
Numa, 40-44; under Ancus Mar- 
cius, 49 ; during the Punic wars, 
136-139; theory of its origin, 227- 
229 ; under Tiberius, 249. 

Re'mi, 203. 

Re'mus, 30. 

Republic, before the Punic wars, 
60-100; during the Punic wars, 
127-136; decline of, 159-232; re- 
stored (?) by Augustus, 237. 

Rhe'a Sil'vi-a, 29. 

Rhe'gi-um, 105. 

Rhodes, 182. 

Roads, public, 168. 

Rome, situation, 21 ; greatness of, 27, 
38 ; founded, 30 ; under the kings, 
30-59 ; becomes supreme in Italy, 
60-83 ; her early republican gov- 
ernment and political struggles, 
84-100; expansion of her power, 
101-126; government during the 
Punic wars, 127-133 ; decline of 
the republic, 159-232; under the 
emperors, 233-317; see Contents. 

Rom'u-lus, 30-39. 

Ros'tra, 34. 

Ru-fi'nus, Pub'li-us Cor-ne'li-us, 
181. 

Ru'fus, Lu'ci-us, 166. 

Rus'ti-cus, 311. 

Ru-til'i-us, Pub'li-us, 174. 

Ru-tu'li-ans, 20. 

Sa-bae'ans, 226, 

Sa'bines, colonize Samnium, 23; 



Ind 



ex 



327 



women of, seized by Romans, 35 ; 
at war with Rome, 36-38, 

Sacred Mount, 87. 

Sacred Spring, 23. 

Ssep'ta, 254, 299. 

Sa-gun'tum, 114. 

Sa-la'ri-an Road, 270. 

Sal'lust, works of, 5. 

Sal'vi-us Va'lens, 306. 

Sam'nites, customs of, 23, 74-77; 
wars with Rome, 72, 74-77, 79. 

Sam'ni-um, 23; at war with Rome, 
72, 74-77. 

Sar-din'i-a, described, 26; in treaty 
between Rome and Carthage, 60. 

Sar'dis, 249. 

Sar-ma'ti-ans, 278, 310, 314. 

Sat-ur-ni'nus, 175. 

Sat-y-rei'us, Pub'li-us, 166. 

Sau-fei'us, Gai'us, 176. 

Scip'i-o, Pub'li-us Scipio ^-mil-i-a'- 
nus Af-ri-ca'nus, 124, 144-150, 160, 
171 ; Publius Scipio Africanus the 
Great, 141-144, 151 ; Publius, father 
of the latter, 141, 143; Lu'ci-us, 
142; Na-si'ca, 148, 165. 

Scul-tan'na River, 16. 

Scyth'i-an, 234. 

Seine River, 202. 

Se-Ieu'ci-a, 290. 

Se-leu'cid king, 123. 

Sem-pro'ni-us, first censor, 95. 

Senate, origin of, 33 ; growth, 48, 50; 
under the republic, 84, 89 ; during 
the Punic wars, 127-133; strength- 
ened by Sulla, 185. 

Sen'e-ca, 10, 265. 

Seq'ua-ni, 203. 

Ser-to'ri-us, 182, 190. 

Servile war, 191. 

Ser-vil'i-us, Gai'us, 98. 

Ser'vi-us, Tul'li-us, 50-55; Gal'ba, 

153- 
Ses'ter-ces, 237. 
Ses'ti-us, 258. 

Se-ve'rus (the philosopher), 312. 
Sex'ti-us, 230. 
Sex'tus (the philosopher) , 312. 



Si-cam'bri-an, 235. 

Sic'i-ly, described, 25. 

Si-cin'i-us, 87. 

Sin-u-es'sa, 311. 

Si'ris River, 80. 

Slaves, 155, 161. 

Soldiers, condition of, under the em- 
pire, 246. 

So'ra, 283. 

Sources, value of the early, 3. 

Spain (I-be'ri-a), 112. 

Spar'ta, 263. 

Spar'ta-cus, 191. 

Spar-ti-a'nus, 14. 

Ste'phen (Saint), 273. 

Sto'i-cism, 11. 

Stra-bo, 8. 

Styx, 42. 

Sub-li'ci-an bridge, 61. 

Su-es'sa, 190; Po-me'tia, 55. 

Sue-to'ni-us, 13. 

Sul'la, Lu'ci-us Cor-ne'Ii-us, 174,176, 
179, 181-187. 

Sul-pi'ci-us, 71. 

Superstitions, 137-139. 

Su'ra, 288. 

Sy-chae'us, 101. 

Syr'a-cuse, 105-108. 

Tac'i-tus, as a writer, 11. 

Tan'a-quil, 50. 

Tan'da-sis, 311. 

Ta-ren'tum, at war with Rome, 77-83. 

Tar-pei'a, 36. 

Tar-quin'i-us, Lu'ci-us Tarquinius 
Pris'cus, 49-51 ; Lucius Tarquin- 
ius Su-per'bus (the " Proud "), 51, 
54-57 ; A'runs, 51 ; Col-la-ti'nus, 
56,57; E-ge'ri-us, 56; Sex'tus, 56; 
Tarquins in exile, 61, 63, 84, 86. 

Tar-ra-ci'na, 61. 

Tar'ra-co, 298. 

Ta'ti-us Max'i-mus, 305. 

Tau'rus Mount, 125. 

Ter'mi-nus, worship of, 43; wotild 
not yield to Jupiter, 56. 

Ter-tul'li-an, 270. 

The-mis'to-cles, 152. 



328 



Index 



The-od'o-tus, 214. 

Ti-be'ri-us Clau'di-us Ne'ro, (second 

emperor) 10, 12, 233, 240-253; 

father of the emperor, 252 ; grand- 
son of the emperor, 253. 
Ti'ber River, 20, 21, 61. 
Ti-bul'lus, 9. 
Ti-bur, situation of, 22, 230; place of 

exile, 129. 
Ti'gris River, 234. 
Ti'tus, the emperor, 273, 274-278 ; 

Ta'ti-us, 36-38, 55, 242. 
To'mi, 10. 
Tor-qua'tus, Man'li-us, 34 ; a quass- 

tor of the year 43 B.C., 223. 
Tradition, 3. 
Tra'jan, 288-295. 
Trans-pa-da'na, 15. 
Tras'i-mene, Lake, battle of the, 119- 

122. 
Treasury, 128 ; under Augustus, 237. 
Treaty with Carthage, 2. 
Trev'e-ri, 248. 
Tri-a'ri-i, 121. 

Tribes, of Romulus, 31 ; of Servius, 53. 
Trib'unes, of the plebs, 88, 90, 91 ; 

during the Punic wars, 127, 131 ; 

in the late republic, 160-171, 175, 

176, 185 ; support Csesar, 212 ; 

military, 128. 
Triumphs, 130, 140. 
Tri-um'vi-rate, the First, 211 ; Second, 

223-227. 
Troy (Il'i-um), 29, 46, 124. 
Tu-der-ti'num, 288. 
Tul'lus, Hos-til'i-us, 45-49; Au-fid'i- 

us, 64. 
Turp'nus, 266. 
Twelve Tables, 2, 90-94. 
Tyre, Ty'rus, loi, 102. 
Tyr'i-ans, loi. 
Tyr-rhe'na, 18. 
Tyr-rhe'ni-an (Tus'can) Sea, 14, 18, 



U-cal'e-gon, 282. 
Ul'pi-us Mar-cel'lus, 306. 
U'ti-ca, 173, 174, 



Va-le'ri-us, 77. 

Va-le'ri-us An'ti-as, 5. 

Va-le'ri-us Max'i-mus, 10; Pub-lic'- 

o-la, law of, 84; Man'i-us, 86; 

Lu'ci-us I, 90; II, 92; Flac'cus, 

150. 
Van'dals, 310. 
Va'rus, 254. 
Vat'i-can Mount, 270. 
Ve-i-en'to, 287. 
Vei'i, 49; conquered by Rome, 66- 

69. 
Ve-li'trae, 219. 
Vel-lei'us Pa-ter'cu-lus, 10. 
Ve-na'frum, 23. 
Ve-ne'ti-ans, 15. 
Ve'nus, 199. 
Ver'gil, 8, 240. 
Ve'rus, Ce-i-o'ni-us Com'mo-dus, 

301 ; An'ni-us (Lu'ci-us Au-re'li-us 

Verus Commodus), 302, 308, 310. 
Ves-pa'si-an, 271-274. 
Ves'ta, 41. 

Ves'tals,29, 41 ; pray for Csesar, 215. 
Ve-su'vi-us, Mount, 191 ; eruption of, 

275-277- 
Ve-tu'ri-a, 65. 

Vic-to-ri'nus, Cor-ne'li-us, 305. 
Vil'la (farm, farmhouse), 155-157. 
Vil'li-us, Gai'us, 166. 
Vim'i-nal Hill, 54. 
Vin-del'i-ci, 233. 
Vin'di-us Ve'rus, 306. 
Vir-gin'i-us, Proc'u-lus, 89; Dec'i- 

mus, 91. 
Vi-tel'li-us, 271. 
Vol'sci-ans, at war with Rome, 55, 

63-66. 
Vol-sin'i-i, 282. 
Vo-lum'ni-a, 65. 
Vo-lu'si-us Mas-ci-a'nus, 306. 

Wight, Isle of, 271. 

Xan-thip'pus, 108. 

Zeus, 313. 
Zo'rus, 102. 



A HISTORY OF GREECE 
For High Schools and Academies 

By GEORGE WILLIS BOTSFORD, Ph.D. 

Instructor in the History of Greece and Rome in Harvard University 

8vo. Half Leather. $i.io net 

"Dr. Botsford's 'History of Greece' has the conspicuous merits which only a text-book 
can possess which is written by a master of the original sources. Indeed, the use of the text 
of Homer, Herodotus, the dramatists, and the other contemporary writers is very effective, 
and very suggestive as to the right method of teaching and study. The style is delightful. 
For simple, unpretentious narrative and elegant English the book is a model. In my judg- 
ment, the work is far superior to any other text-book for high school or academic use which 
has yet appeared. Its value is enriched by the illustrations, as also by the reference lists and 
the suggestive studies. It will greatly aid in the new movement to encourage modern scien- 
tific method in the teaching of history in the secondary schools of the country. It will be 
adopted by Stanford as the basis of entrance requirements in Grecian history." 

— Professor George Elliot Howard, Stanford University, QaX- 

A HISTORY OF ROME 
For High Schools and Academies 

By GEORGE WILLIS BOTSFORD, Ph.D. 

Instructor in the History of Greece and Rome in Harvard University 

8vo. Half Leather. $i.io net 

TEACHABLE QUALITIES 

1. Treatment of the external and internal history of the Republic in separate chapters; 
this conduces to simplicity, continuity of thought, and hence interest. 

2. Each chapter corresponds with a period or epoch; this helps the pupil to gain a distinct 
conception of each period, and to a correct arrangement and subordination of events. In 
most books the chapters are arbitrary divisions. 

3. Marginal headings — sufficiently bold to be used as topics, but they do not interrupt 
the thought, or break the interest, as they would, were they extended across the page. 

4. Frequent quotation of sources; makes the subject more vivid and real. 

5. Concrete treatment of the constitution. This book represents the people, senators, and 
magistrates as living, thinking, acting, governing, etc. It does not treat Rome as an abstract 
legal or political system, but as a city made up of human beings. 

6. Movement — in the entire book there is no isolated paragraph; the thought is continu- 
ous throughout and the verbs are in the active voice. 

7. The outline of the Republican constitution, p. 353 ff., serves as an example of what 
should be done in the preparation of lessons, and at the same time is a complete, logical pre- 
sentation of the only really difficult subject in Roman history. 

8. The " Studies " require a thorough digestion of the material, and one who works them 
out faithfully will be able to pass the examination for admission to any college. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

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A HISTORY OF ROME^^ 

For High Schools and Academies 



BY 

GEORGE WILLIS BOTSFORD, Ph.D. 

Instructor in the History of Greece and Rome in Harvard University 

Half Leather. 8vo. $i.io, net 



SCOPE OF THE BOOK 



In scope and method, this book is similar to the " History of Greece " by 
the same author. Omitting useless and perplexing details, it aims to intro- 
duce the reader to the public life of the Romans, to illustrate their character 
in war and in peace, and to interpret their genius for organization and for 
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the influence of Rome. 

A feature of the "History of Greece" especially commended by teachers, 
is repeated in this book, — frequent quotations from the original literature, 
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sources. It contains, further, many illustrations of landscape, art, and customs, 
with plans and maps for the study of epochs as well as for general reference. 
Among the " Helps " of the closing chapter is an historical outline of the 
early Roman Constitution. 



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